Tripoli: Europe and the Arabs

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that it has deployed emergency teams to eastern Libya to assist dozens of migrants released from detention centers where they were being held in appalling conditions, according to the UN Daily News. Nicoletta Giordano, head of the IOM mission in Libya, said these shocking cases highlight the grave dangers faced by migrants who fall prey to criminal networks operating along migration routes.

In a statement released Monday, she added: "The horrific abuses uncovered in Ajdabiya and Kufra underscore the urgent need to strengthen protection mechanisms, combat human trafficking and smuggling, and support accountability for perpetrators."

The IOM reported that Libyan authorities conducted an operation last week to close an illegal detention site, freeing 195 migrants and recovering 21 bodies from a nearby burial site in Ajdabiya. Investigations indicate that the victims were being held and tortured for ransom from their families. In a separate operation in Kufra, security authorities discovered an underground detention site three meters deep. During the operation, 221 migrants and refugees, including women and children, among them a one-month-old infant, were freed. Initial reports indicate that the migrants had been held for an extended period in extremely inhumane conditions. At least ten people were taken to the hospital for urgent medical treatment.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) stated that its teams in Kufra are providing medical checkups, referring urgent cases to hospitals, and distributing warm clothing to support those who were freed.

The IOM commended the Libyan authorities for their efforts in rescuing survivors, identifying victims, and launching coordinated investigations. It stressed that strengthening surveillance, data collection, and referral mechanisms—along with enhancing the capacity of national institutions to identify and dismantle criminal networks—is essential to prevent further loss of life.

The IOM reaffirmed its commitment to providing humanitarian assistance to migrants in need and supporting national institutions in strengthening their efforts to combat human trafficking, focusing on protection and rights-based border management. In February of last year, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) expressed its shock and concern over the discovery of two mass graves in Libya containing the bodies of dozens of migrants, some with gunshot wounds. The IOM described the discovery as a "tragic reminder" of the dangers faced by this vulnerable group of people who embark on "perilous journeys."

This statement followed the discovery of 19 bodies in the Ajkhara area, about 400 kilometers south of Benghazi, and at least 30 more bodies in a mass grave in the Kufra desert in the southeast of the country, which may contain as many as 70 bodies.

The IOM confirmed that the circumstances of their deaths and their nationalities remain unknown. It stated that the two graves were discovered during a police raid in which hundreds of migrants were rescued from smugglers. The organization added that security forces are continuing their operations to apprehend the perpetrators. The head of the International Organization for Migration's mission in Libya, Nicoletta Giordano, said that a very large number of migrants are subjected during these journeys to "severe exploitation, violence and abuse, which underscores the need to prioritize human rights and protect those at risk."