African migrants and refugees relocated to Rwanda are relieved to have escaped the hellish conditions in Libyan camps. But they will not give up on their original goal to reach Europe and are starting to feel restless.
African migrants and refugees relocated to Rwanda are relieved to have escaped the hellish conditions in Libyan camps. But they will not give up on their original goal to reach Europe and are starting to feel restless.
Libya is one of the most important transit points for migrants who want to cross the Mediterrean to reach Europe. Many holding camps are run by smugglers and people are subjected to horrendous conditions. DW caught up with survivors of the refugee camp's horrors who managed to escape to Niger, Libya's southern neighbor.
In one week, a total of 493 migrants from sub-Saharan, Arab and Asian countries were collected by Libya's controversial coast guard. They are now in four detention centers in and around Tripoli that are known for overcrowded, inhumane and insecure conditions.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said a Sudanese man died from a gunshot wound in Libya when a group of migrants resisted being sent to a detention center. They were returned to shore by Libya's coast guard after a failed attempt to get to Europe. The IOM demands "alternatives to detention."
A report released by the United Nations in early September accused Libyan local and state authorities of being involved in human trafficking. United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres wrote in the report that both local and state authorities in Libya are involved in the human trafficking of migrants. The UN said that the information it had received in order to write the report was "credible."
In war-torn Libya, a major transit point for migrants seeking to cross the Mediterranean to Europe, the situation for the close to 5,000 refugees and migrants stuck in detention centers is still hostile. On Thursday September 12, 98 refugees were taken to Italy, the latest transfer in a larger effort to evacuate the north African country's overcrowded and unsafe facilities.
Libyan authorities in Tripoli have announced the shutdown of three migrant detention centers in Misrata, Khoms and Tajoura, which was hit by air strikes that killed at least 53 people.
Italy's foreign minister has called for recent problems posed by mass migration to be solved within a European framework. Italy has borne the brunt of a huge influx of migrants to Europe that erupted in 2015.
Migrants are being allowed to leave the Tajoura detention center in the Libyan capital Tripoli, about two weeks after it was hit by an air strike which killed at least 53 people and injured 130 others. The UNHCR Libya is trying to register and provide assistance to many who have left but what will happen to them next?
The Libyan government of Fayez al-Sarraj is evaluating the possibility of closing migrant detention centers in the country after an airstrike on the center in Tajoura.
A conflict between Libya's competing government factions has placed refugees in the middle of a bloody power struggle. A deadly airstrike on a detention camp is just the latest attack to target refugee facilities.