More than 100 migrants,including five women,have been rescued from captivity in Ajdabiya,eastern Libya,where they were being held and tortured by a human trafficking gang demanding ransom payments. Libya’s attorney-general confirmed on Monday,July 14 that the criminal group had been orchestrating the smuggling,detention,and abuse of migrants to extort their families. The rescued victims bore signs of severe physical assault,with images showing them bound and beaten—evidence retrieved from the suspects’ mobile phones.
Five suspects—nationals of Libya,Sudan,and Egypt—have been arrested in connection with the case. This development comes amid increasing international concern over Libya’s role as a major transit hub for migrants attempting the perilous journey to Europe,particularly after the collapse of the Gaddafi regime in 2011. The country’s ongoing instability has made it a hotspot for traffickers,many of whom operate with impunity in remote desert regions and urban centres alike.
The discovery echoes previous atrocities,including the unearthing of mass graves in February near Kufra and Jikharra,where dozens of migrant bodies were found,reportedly victims of torture and inhumane conditions at the hands of trafficking networks. As of December 2024,approximately 825,000 migrants from 47 countries were recorded in Libya,underscoring the scale of the humanitarian crisis. Efforts to address the issue were recently revisited in high-level talks between EU migration officials and Libya’s internationally recognised prime minister,Abdulhamid Dbeibah,with calls for urgent action to stem the growing abuse of migrants.
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