Latest news with #Nato-backed
TimesLIVE
18 hours ago
- TimesLIVE
More than 100 migrants freed in Libya after being held captive by gang, say officials
More than 100 migrants, including five women, have been freed from captivity after being held for ransom by a gang in eastern Libya, the country's attorney-general said on Monday. "A criminal group involved in organising the smuggling of migrants, depriving them of their freedom, trafficking them, and torturing them to force their families to pay ransoms for their release," a statement from the attorney general said. Libya has become a transit route for migrants fleeing conflict and poverty to Europe via the dangerous route across the desert and over the Mediterranean following the toppling of Muammar Gaddafi in a Nato-backed uprising in 2011. Many migrants desperate to make the crossing have fallen into the hands of traffickers. The freed migrants had been held in Ajdabiya, some 160km from Libya's second city Benghazi. Five suspected traffickers from Libya, Sudan and Egypt, have been arrested, officials said.
AsiaOne
a day ago
- Politics
- AsiaOne
More than 100 migrants freed in Libya after being held captive by gang, officials say, World News
BENGHAZI — More than 100 migrants, including five women, have been freed from captivity after being held for ransom by a gang in eastern Libya, the country's attorney general said on Monday (July 14). "A criminal group involved in organising the smuggling of migrants, depriving them of their freedom, trafficking them, and torturing them to force their families to pay ransoms for their release," a statement from the attorney general said. Libya has become a transit route for migrants fleeing conflict and poverty to Europe via the dangerous route across the desert and over the Mediterranean following the toppling of Muammar Gaddafi in a Nato-backed uprising in 2011. Many migrants desperate to make the crossing have fallen into the hands of traffickers. The freed migrants had been held in Ajdabiya, some 160km from Libya's second city Benghazi. Five suspected traffickers from Libya, Sudan and Egypt, have been arrested, officials said. The attorney general and Ajdabiya security directorate posted pictures of the migrants on their Facebook pages which they said had been retrieved from the suspects' mobile phones. They showed migrants with hands and legs cuffed with signs that they had been beaten. In February, at least 28 bodies were recovered from a mass grave in the desert north of Kufra city. Officials said a gang had subjected the migrants to torture and inhumane treatment. That followed another 19 bodies being found in a mass grave in the Jikharra area, also in southeastern Libya, a security directorate said, blaming a known smuggling network. As of December 2024, around 825,000 migrants from 47 countries were recorded in Libya, according to UN data released in May. Last week, the EU migration commissioner and ministers from Italy, Malta and Greece met with the internationally recognised prime minister of the national unity government, Abdulhamid Dbeibah, and discussed the migration crisis. [[nid:718209]]
Observer
24-05-2025
- Politics
- Observer
African Union urges permanent ceasefire in Libya
ADDIS ABABA: The African Union called for a permanent ceasefire in Libya on Saturday after deadly clashes in the capital earlier this month and demonstrations demanding the prime minister's resignation. The latest fighting in the conflict-torn North African country pitted an armed group aligned with the Tripoli-based government against factions it has sought to dismantle, resulting in at least eight dead, according to the United Nations. Despite a lack of a formal ceasefire, the clashes mostly ended last week, with the Libya Defence Ministry saying this week that efforts towards a truce were "ongoing". On Saturday, the AU's Peace and Security Council condemned the recent violence, calling for an "unconditional and permanent ceasefire". In a statement on X, the council urged "inclusive, Libyan-led reconciliation", adding that it "appeals for no external interference". Libya is split between the UN-recognised government in Tripoli, led by Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah, and a rival administration in the east. The country has remained deeply divided since the 2011 Nato-backed revolt. The clashes were sparked by the killing of an armed faction leader by a group aligned with Dbeibah's government — the 444 Brigade, which later fought a third group, the Radaa force that controls parts of eastern Tripoli and the city's airport. It came after Dbeibah announced a string of executive orders seeking to dismantle Radaa and dissolve other Tripoli-based armed groups but excluding the 444 Brigade. — AFP
AsiaOne
20-05-2025
- Politics
- AsiaOne
At least 58 corpses found in Libyan hospital, ministry says, World News
TRIPOLI — At least 58 unidentified corpses were found on Monday (May 19) in a hospital in Tripoli that was under the control of a militia whose leader was killed last week, the interior ministry said. The corpses were found in a morgue refrigerator in Abu Salim Accidents Hospital in the densely populated Abu Salim neighbourhood, following a report from the hospital, the ministry said in a statement. Pictures of corpses with numbers and censored faces were posted by the ministry, showing remains in various states of decomposition on steel carriers and beds. Some of the remains were burnt. An investigation was underway to establish the identities of the deceased. "So far, 23 corpses have been examined, and all necessary legal procedures have been taken, including documenting data and collecting samples," the ministry said. Abu Salim was home to a militia known as the Stabilisation Support Apparatus, whose chief, Abdulghani Kikli, widely known as Ghaniwa, was killed in unconfirmed circumstances last Monday. Kikli's killing led to the sudden defeat of the SSA by factions aligned to internationally recognised Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah of the Government of National Unity (GNU). On Tuesday, Dbeibah ordered armed groups to be dismantled, triggering the fiercest clashes Tripoli had seen in years between two armed groups. The clashes killed at least eight civilians, according to the United Nations. The corpses found on Monday are the second set of unidentified remains discovered in recent days. On Saturday, officials said nine corpses had been found in a morgue refrigerator in Al-Khadra hospital, another SSA-controlled hospital in the Abu Salim neighbourhood. The militia had not reported the corpses to the relevant authorities, the interior ministry said. Dbeibah said on Saturday that eliminating militias was an "ongoing project," as a ceasefire after last week's clashes remained in place. The GNU posted a video on Monday showing bulldozers demolishing the so-called 77 camp, one of the biggest facilities that was under control of SSA. The camp is to be turned into a national park. Libya has had little stability since a 2011 Nato-backed uprising ousted longtime autocrat Muammar Gaddafi. The country split in 2014 between rival eastern and western factions, though an outbreak of major warfare paused with a truce in 2020. [[nid:714645]]
Malay Mail
20-05-2025
- Politics
- Malay Mail
Libyan authorities discover at least 58 unidentified corpses in militia-controlled Tripoli hospital, ministry says
TRIPOLI, May 20 — At least 58 unidentified corpses were found yesterday in a hospital in Tripoli that was under the control of a militia whose leader was killed last week, the interior ministry said. The corpses were found in a morgue refrigerator in Abu Salim Accidents Hospital in the densely populated Abu Salim neighbourhood, following a report from the hospital, the ministry said in a statement. Pictures of corpses with numbers and censored faces were posted by the ministry, showing remains in various states of decomposition on steel carriers and beds. Some of the remains were burnt. An investigation was underway to establish the identities of the deceased. 'So far, 23 corpses have been examined, and all necessary legal procedures have been taken, including documenting data and collecting samples,' the ministry said. Abu Salim was home to a militia known as the Stabilisation Support Apparatus, whose chief, Abdulghani Kikli, widely known as Ghaniwa, was killed in unconfirmed circumstances last Monday. Kikli's killing led to the sudden defeat of the SSA by factions aligned to internationally recognised Prime Minister Abdulhamid al-Dbeibah of the Government of National Unity (GNU). On Tuesday, Dbeibah ordered armed groups to be dismantled, triggering the fiercest clashes Tripoli had seen in years between two armed groups. The clashes killed at least eight civilians, according to the United Nations. The corpses found on Monday are the second set of unidentified remains discovered in recent days. On Saturday, officials said nine corpses had been found in a morgue refrigerator in Al-Khadra hospital, another SSA-controlled hospital in the Abu Salim neighbourhood. The militia had not reported the corpses to the relevant authorities, the interior ministry said. Dbeibah said on Saturday that eliminating militias was an 'ongoing project,' as a ceasefire after last week's clashes remained in place. The GNU posted a video yesterday showing bulldozers demolishing the so-called 77 camp, one of the biggest facilities that was under control of SSA. The camp is to be turned into a national park. Libya has had little stability since a 2011 Nato-backed uprising ousted longtime autocrat Muammar Gaddafi. The country split in 2014 between rival eastern and western factions, though an outbreak of major warfare paused with a truce in 2020. — Reuters
