The Libyan Attorney General has announced the detention of 13 people on charges of organizing irregular migration operations, human trafficking, and unlawfully detaining others in the regions of Kufra and Tazirbu.
This move is part of an ongoing campaign to combat human trafficking and irregular migration, which have increasingly plagued the African country in recent years.
As part of this initiative, 197 migrants have been freed from forced detention and torture in illegal detention centres operated by criminal gangs.
The liberated migrants have received necessary medical and psychological care, preparing them for resettlement or repatriation to their home countries in coordination with international organizations focused on migration and refugee affairs.
Additionally, the Libyan investigative authorities have issued warrants for 76 more individuals involved in the human trafficking and smuggling network.
The Libyan authorities are collaborating with local and international security agencies to track down and dismantle these networks, striving to curb this phenomenon exacerbated by the country’s ongoing political and security turmoil.
These efforts underscore the Libyan authorities’ commitment to fighting human trafficking and protecting the rights of migrants and refugees, despite the significant challenges they face.
In May, Abdul Hamid Dbeibah, the Prime Minister of Libya’s Government of National Unity, invited Chadian President Mohamed Idriss Deby to participate in an international conference focusing on combating irregular migration and border security.
Last month, fifteen European Union (EU) member states urged the adoption of new strategies to manage the issue of irregular migration, including the formation of agreements with third countries located along major migration routes.
EU member states, including the Czech Republic, have sent a letter to the European Commission advocating for changes to the bloc’s asylum policy.
The proposed changes include establishing mechanisms to monitor, intercept, and transfer migrants by land and sea to third-party partner countries outside the European Union until their asylum requests can be processed.
This arrangement exemplifies the type of agreements the EU member states are considering to more effectively manage migration pressures.
