un agency migrants traded in ‘slave markets’ in libya
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

UN agency: Migrants traded in ‘slave markets’ in Libya

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today UN agency: Migrants traded in ‘slave markets’ in Libya

Gambian migrants stand in line as they wait for registration at the airport in Banjul
Geneva - Arab Today

Growing numbers of African migrants passing through Libya are traded in what they call slave markets before being held for ransom, forced labor or sexual exploitation, the UN migration agency said on Tuesday.
West African migrants interviewed by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) have recounted being bought and sold in garages and car parks in the southern city of Sabha, one of Libya’s main migrant-smuggling hubs.
Migrants are traded for between $200 and $500 and are held on average for two or three months, Othman Belbeisi, head of the IOM’s Libya mission, told journalists in Geneva.
“Migrants are being sold in the market as a commodity,” he said. “Selling human beings is becoming a trend among smugglers as the smuggling networks in Libya are becoming stronger and stronger.”
The migrants — many from Nigeria, Senegal and Gambia — are captured as they head north toward Libya’s Mediterranean coast, where some try to catch boats for Italy.
Along the way they are prey to an array of armed groups and smuggling networks that often try to extort extra money in exchange for allowing migrants to continue.
Most migrants are used as day laborers in construction or agriculture. Some are paid and others are forced to work without pay.
“About women, we heard a lot about bad treatment, rape and being forced into prostitution,” Belbeisi said.
The IOM said it had spoken to one Senegalese migrant who was held in a Libyan’s private house in Sabha with about 100 others, who were beaten as they called their families to ask for money for their captors. He was then bought by another Libyan, who set a new price for his release.
Some migrants who cannot pay their captors are reportedly killed or left to starve to death, and when migrants die or are released, others are purchased to replace them, the IOM said.
Migrants are buried without being identified, with families back home uncertain of their fate.
“What we know is that migrants who fall into the hands of smugglers face systematic malnutrition, sexual abuse and even murder,” Mohammed Abdiker, IOM’s director of operations and emergencies, said in a statement. “We are hearing about mass graves in the desert.”
Libya is the main gateway for migrants attempting to reach Europe by sea, with more than 150,000 people making the crossing in each of the past three years.
So far this year an estimated 26,886 migrants have crossed to Italy, over 7,000 more than during the same period in 2016. More than 600 are known to have died at sea, while an unknown number perish during their journey north through the desert.

Source: Arab News

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

un agency migrants traded in ‘slave markets’ in libya un agency migrants traded in ‘slave markets’ in libya

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

un agency migrants traded in ‘slave markets’ in libya un agency migrants traded in ‘slave markets’ in libya

 



GMT 09:16 2017 Wednesday ,13 December

Cape wearing tips

GMT 20:49 2017 Monday ,21 August

South Asia floods claim more than 750 lives

GMT 19:06 2016 Saturday ,10 December

IOF Close Al-Nabi Saleh Village's Entrance

GMT 18:01 2017 Wednesday ,22 February

Abu Sayyaf ‘likely’ behind Vietnam freighter attack

GMT 06:41 2017 Sunday ,03 December

Hamas threatens 'intifada' over US moves on Jerusalem

GMT 16:17 2017 Saturday ,21 January

BMW 7 series crosses 5,000 unit mark in 2016

GMT 12:17 2016 Wednesday ,24 February

United Technologies nixes Honeywell merger

GMT 23:37 2017 Monday ,31 July

Saudi Arabia sanctions Hezbollah member

GMT 05:45 2018 Saturday ,29 September

Abdullah bin Zayed hosts official reception in New York

GMT 04:12 2018 Friday ,12 January

Saudi-led coalition says Yemen rebels threat

GMT 11:18 2014 Monday ,22 December

Richard Ward adds to The Chelsea Collection

GMT 21:20 2017 Monday ,06 February

UN resumes food air drops in Deir Ezzor

GMT 22:24 2017 Friday ,15 December

HRH Premier thanked by Cambodian counterpart

GMT 02:11 2017 Monday ,23 October

Oct24/Nov22

GMT 21:31 2017 Monday ,11 December

HM King congratulates Burkinabe President

GMT 20:22 2017 Monday ,23 October

EU deplores attack against police
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday