GENEVA: More than 12 migrants were shot dead by human traffickers last week while trying to escape a camp in Libya, where some were subjected to “torture abuse,” the United Nations said Friday.
The incident, previously reported by Doctors Without Borders and local sources, occurred on May 23 in the town of Bani Walid, 170 kilometers (110 miles) southeast of Tripoli.
“Human traffickers in Libya reportedly killed more than a dozen people and wounded many others after a group of some 200 Eritreans, Ethiopians and Somalis, being held captive, attempted to escape,” the UN refugee agency said in a statement, adding that those killed “were shot.”
“The survivors spoke of torture abuse and exploitation at the hands of traffickers — some being held in captivity for up to three years,” the statement added.
Bani Walid is a transit point for migrants aiming to reach Europe by boat from the coast further north.
People traffickers and kidnappers run around 20 detention centers in the town, telephoning the migrants’ families to deliver ransom demands.
Since the 2011 fall and killing of longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi, Libya has become a key launchpad for migrants making desperate bids to reach Europe.
“This latest deadly incident demonstrates, once again, the huge challenge of providing protection to refugees in Libya, where many people fleeing war and persecution fall prey to criminal networks,” UNHCR further said.
Traffickers kill 12 migrants trying to flee Libya camp: UN
Traffickers kill 12 migrants trying to flee Libya camp: UN
- More than 12 migrants were shot dead by human traffickers last week while trying to escape a camp in Libya, where some were subjected to “torture abuse.”
- The survivors spoke of torture abuse and exploitation at the hands of traffickers.
Russia to free two Hungarian-Ukrainian POWs, Putin says
- Ukraine accused the two countries of having “manipulated the sensitive issue of prisoners of war“
- “You will be able to take them with you on the plane you arrived on and the plane you will return to Budapest on,” Putin told Szijjarto
MOSCOW: Russia will free two Ukrainian-Hungarian nationals captured while fighting for Ukraine, President Vladimir Putin said Wednesday, after Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban appealed for their release in a phone call.
Ukraine accused the two countries of having “manipulated the sensitive issue of prisoners of war” and of staging the release as a PR stunt ahead of parliamentary elections in Hungary in April.
In a meeting with Hungarian Foreign Minister Peter Szijjarto in Moscow, Putin said the two soldiers were “forcibly conscripted” by Ukraine and that he personally made the decision to release them.
“As the prime minister requested, you will be able to take them with you on the plane you arrived on and the plane you will return to Budapest on,” Putin told Szijjarto.
Hungary is one of the few European countries to maintain close ties with Russia amid its Ukraine offensive and has consistently opposed military aid for Kyiv.
Ukraine is home to a large Hungarian minority, most of whom live in the western Zakarpattia region and hold dual citizenship.
The Russian defense ministry published a video last week purporting to show a dual Hungarian-Ukrainian citizen prisoner of war, alleging he had been forced to enlist in the Ukrainian army.
During their meeting, Szijjarto also urged Moscow not to raise energy prices, after fighting in the Middle East spurred by joint US-Israeli strikes on Iran sent markets into turmoil.
“I came here... to be assured and obtain a guarantee that even in the midst of the current crisis, the quantities of natural gas and crude oil necessary for Hungary’s energy security will be available, and that they will be delivered to Hungary from Russia at the same price,” Szijjarto said.
Putin said Russia was happy to discuss the issue of energy.
“Not everything depends on us, but, I repeat, we have always been reliable suppliers,” Putin told Szijjarto.
Hungary is the European Union’s biggest importer of Russian fossil fuels, having maintained purchases and secured exemptions from sanctions despite pressure from Brussels amid the Ukraine war.
Budapest was already facing disruption from the closure of the Druzhba pipeline, which transports Russian oil to Hungary and which Ukraine says was damaged in a Russian strike in January.
Both Hungary and Slovakia, as well as the Kremlin, accuse Kyiv of deliberately stalling its reopening. Kyiv says the threat of another attack is holding up repairs.
