UN calls for end to migrants' arbitrary detention in Libya
Mar 29, 2021
Tripoli [Libya], March 29 : The regional office of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Monday called for an end to the arbitrary detention of migrants, as it reported that nearly 1,000 people were returned to Libya over the past 48 hours.
"Over the past 48 hours, nearly 1,000 migrants were intercepted and returned to #Libya by the coast guard and coastal security. IOM teams were present at all disembarkation points to provide needed assistance. We reiterate that arbitrary detention must end," the UN organization said on Twitter, as reported by Sputnik.
UN migration spokesperson Safa Msehli added that the migrants ended up "detained in appalling conditions."
Since 2011, when the long-ruling country leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown and killed, Libya has been torn apart by an internal conflict, according to Sputnik.
The country's most recent government led by prime minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah was created by an UN-brokered peace process.
