ABIDJAN: Survivors of slave auctions in Libya have described a “total hell” that they would not wish on their “worst enemy” as global outrage grows over footage showing migrants being sold off in the war-torn country.
“We were slaves,” said Moussa Sanogo, a migrant who flew back to Ivory Coast from Libya this week after surviving regular beatings and forced labor in the fields.
“For the Arabs (Libyan jailers), black-skinned men are nothing but animals — animals were treated better,” said Sanogo, who spent more than four months in Libya trying to get to Italy by boat.
The North African country has long been a major transit hub for migrants trying to reach Europe.
He was just one of those who returned home with stories similar to those aired last week by US TV network CNN, which showed an apparent slave auction where black men were presented to North African buyers as potential farmhands and sold off for as little as $400 (€340).
“It was total hell in Libya,” said Maxime Ndong, one of 250 migrants flown back to Cameroon on Tuesday night.
“There is a trade in black people there. People who want slaves... come to buy them,” he told AFP.
“If you resist, they shoot at you. There have been deaths,” said Ndong, who spent eight months in Libya.
The Cameroonians flew back to Yaounde on Tuesday aboard a plane charted by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) as part of a project to return and reintegrate some 850 people.
Sanogo, 22, was one of about 600 Ivory Coast migrants that were returning from Libya with IOM’s support. Around 150 people landed in the capital Abidjan on Monday with the rest to be brought home during the week.
Sanogo described Libya as an anarchic country preyed on by bandits where the forces of law and order were involved in human trafficking.
“At one point, we were caught by people who said they were police,” he said.
“The police then sold me for 500 dinars (€310, $365) to a man who made me work in a tomato field for a month. You have to work.”
Sanogo fled across the desert to Niger where he was imprisoned again before finally escaping to Tunisia.
Then a people smuggler promising a path to Europe convinced him to return to Libya.
“We were captured and locked in a small room with 60 other people,” and were “not able to wash,” he said.
“When the Arabs entered they wore masks due to the smell,” he said, shaking his head at the memory.
“They are buying you. You’re there, you have been arrested, you see they are judging your price like merchandise. They bought you and you’re going to work... like a slave,” he said.
“They hit you all the time — especially if you’re big like me — until the blood flows, with sticks, metal, the butt of a gun.
“For food, you are given a piece of bread and a piece of cheese, that’s all... I’m happy to be back,” he said.
“I would not wish it on my enemy.”
Another migrant, Seydou Sanogo from Abidjan, said: “You would have to see what we lived through to believe it.”
But not everyone wanted to leave Libya. One woman with an 18-month-old baby said she did not want to return to Ivory Coast.
“We were waiting for the boat. We were almost there,” said the woman, who did not give her name.
The slave auction footage has triggered an outcry across Africa, bringing to public consciousness a situation that has previously been condemned by many non-governmental groups and observers.
Music and football stars have expressed their outrage at the revelations, including Ivorian reggae singers Alpha Blondy and Tiken Jah Fakoly, as well as footballer Didier Drogba.
“It is a double indignation, a cry from the heart: I am shocked to see the children of Africa die... trying to find a better tomorrow,” said A’Salfo, lead singer of the group Magic System.
“A humiliation for Africa.”
The UN said the slavery auctions should be investigated as possible crimes against humanity, and the issue will be on agenda at an African Union-EU summit on Nov. 29-30 in Abidjan.
Migrants sold into slavery in Libya tell of ‘total hell’
Migrants sold into slavery in Libya tell of ‘total hell’
Zindani govt begins reshaping security leadership
- US backing for the Yemeni Presidential Leadership Council’s efforts
ADEN: Yemen’s government under Prime Minister Shaya Al-Zindani has begun implementing a series of decisions to restructure the leadership of the security services, in a move seen as a significant step toward reorganizing state institutions in the temporary capital, Aden.
It comes amid renewed US support for the Presidential Leadership Council’s efforts to bolster stability, combat terrorism and safeguard international maritime routes.
The chairman of Yemen’s Presidential Leadership Council, Rashad Al-Alimi, issued two presidential decrees appointing Brig. Gen. Abdulsalam Qaid Abdulqawi Al-Jamali as commander of the Special Security Forces and Brig. Gen. Abdulsalam Abdulrab Ahmed Al-Omari as head of the Civil Defense Authority, with both officers promoted to the rank of major general.
The decisions are part of a broader Yemeni effort to rebuild the leadership structure of security institutions, while strengthening the state’s capacity to enforce security and stability in liberated areas amid the country’s multiple security challenges.
Alongside the presidential decrees, Yemeni Interior Minister Ibrahim Haidan issued a series of leadership changes within Aden’s security services, including the reassignment of several security officials, as part of a plan aimed at improving operational efficiency and strengthening coordination among units.
The decisions included reassigning Brig. Gen. Jalal Al-Rubaie from his post as commander of the National Security Forces to lead the Special Security Forces in Aden, as well as appointing Brig. Gen. Mohammed Abdo Al-Subeihi as deputy director general of Aden Police and assistant for security affairs.
The appointments also included Brig. Gen. Jalal Fadl Al-Qutaibi as assistant director general of Aden Police for human resources and financial affairs; Brig. Gen. Mohammed Khaled Haidara Al-Turki as assistant director general for operations; Brig. Gen. Hassan Mohsen Saleh Al-Omari as director of the Criminal Investigation Department, with Col. Fouad Mohammed Ali appointed as his deputy; and Lt. Col. Mayas Haidara Al-Jaadani as director of the Anti-Narcotics Department.
The Yemeni Ministry of Interior said the measures are intended to reorganize field operations, raise security readiness levels, accelerate response time to threats and improve institutional discipline within security agencies. It believes the changes will help consolidate stability in the temporary capital of Aden and improve security and service performance in the city.
Yemeni-American Partnership
The government’s steps coincided with a meeting between Al-Alimi and US Ambassador to Yemen Steven H. Fagin, during which they reviewed the latest developments at the local level.
The two sides also discussed the US and international support required to strengthen Yemen’s capacity to confront security and terrorist threats, protect vital facilities and secure international shipping lanes, noting that this is an issue of regional and global priority amid escalating tensions
According to an official media source, Al-Alimi reiterated his appreciation of the Yemeni-American partnership and praised Washington’s role in supporting the implementation of resolutions to prohibit the smuggling of Iranian arms to the Houthi militia, drying up their funding sources and curbing destabilizing operations.
Al-Alimi highlighted the importance of reinforcing joint deterrence against regional threats, including the need to strictly enforce international sanctions and to pursue financing, smuggling and arms networks, in support of the government’s efforts to extend state control across all Yemeni territory.
He added that the security of the Red Sea and Bab Al-Mandab Strait is a global concern that requires broad international coordination.
Al-Alimi said that the Yemeni government is exerting efforts to normalize economic and service conditions, and to implement plans designed to integrate forces and unify security and military decision-making processes. He added that the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia supported these efforts, as it has played a pivotal role in advancing stability and rebuilding state institutions.
