ACHRS Statement: Guards Kill 6 Migrants in Libyan Detention Center

At least six migrants were killed by guards at a Libyan detention center, and at least 15 others were injured and taken to hospitals. Amman Center for Human Rights Studies calls to Libya to stop the inhuman treatment of migrants and asylum seekers in the detention center and supports UN agencies in calling for humanitarian assistance and justice for migrants.

Download our full statement or view as PDF

The 8th of October, a shooting took place in the Mabani detention center west of the capital, Tripoli, Libya. The International Organization for Migration says that the shooting started because of a riot and migrants trying to escape. Federico Soda, the head of IOM’s mission in Libya, said at least six migrants were killed by guards at the Libyan detention center, and at least 15 others were injured and taken to hospitals.

Witnesses described “injured migrants in a pool of blood lying on the ground.” Soda said that “the use of excessive force and violence often resulting in death is a regular occurrence in Libyan detention centers… We are devastated by this tragic loss of life.”

The UN refugee agency’s special envoy, Vincent Cochetel said Libya centers are overcrowded and include “human rights violations and inhuman conditions” and “indiscriminate shooting.” Cochetel urges the EU and UN to impose sanctions on Libya for the abuses against migrants.

A video circulated online, in which hundreds of migrants were fleeing the detention center to the facility fence. Other videos showed hundreds of migrants in the streets of Tripoli. One of the migrants was detained and placed in a crowded cell where they could not breathe and had no water, food, or oxygen, he says. Many migrants, including unaccompanied children and young mothers, have protested at the agency’s Community Day Center in Tripoli, demanding they be evacuated from Libya.

The French organization Doctors without Borders (MSF) said that migrants were treated “with extreme violence” in the Mabani center.

Amman Center for Human Rights Studies calls to Libya to stop the inhuman treatment of migrants and asylum seekers in the detention center. ACHRS supports UN agencies in calling for humanitarian assistance and justice for migrants. We also urge Libyan authorities to stop putting women and children at risk.

Image Source: Arab News