Reports of physical and sexual assault as Libya captures 5,000 migrants in a single week

The number of people arrested in detention centres in Tripoli, Libya, has tripled in the previous five days, after at least 5,000 migrants and refugees were detained amid violent mass arrests across the city since October 1, according to Doctors Without Borders/Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF).

MSF provides medical services in three Tripoli detention institutions and has seen numerous detainees confined in overcrowded and unclean conditions with insufficient food, water, shelter, or medical care. 

Many of those detained have already spent years in custody after fleeing conflicts or dictatorships across Africa. The EU-backed Libyan coastguard intercepted them as they attempted to reach Europe via sea. The arrests, according to Libyan police, are linked to illegal immigration and narcotics trafficking.

"Many of those arrested were reportedly subjected to serious physical assault, including sexual violence, during searches on their houses," the MSF stated in a statement. According to the UN, one child migrant was killed and at least five others were wounded by gunshots.

The Libyan migrants are confined in inhumane conditions

After hundreds of refugees and migrants arrived at its Tripoli day centre seeking protection, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Monday that it was suspending operations until further notice. The ban was imposed due to 'escalating tensions involving violence and disruptive behaviour,' according to the agency. The UNHCR announced on Thursday that it was working to develop other communication routes with those in need.

Since 2017, more than 81,000 migrants have been apprehended at sea and returned to Libya by the Libyan coastguard. The first findings of an independent fact-finding mission commissioned by the UN Human Rights Council stated, 'Murder, enslavement, torture, imprisonment, rape, persecution, and other inhumane acts committed against Libyan migrants form part of a systematic and widespread attack directed at this population, in furtherance of a state policy that may amount to crimes against humanity.'

Migrants of all gender and age groups are confined in inhumane conditions, some of whom die. Some children are kept with adults, putting them at risk of being abused. Sexual abuse and torture (such as electric shocks) are common, according to the study.

(With inputs from agencies)

Image: AP