UN calls for halt to Libya migrant detention, expulsion

TRIPOLI: The United Nations on Monday called on Libya to treat migrants and asylum seekers with dignity, highlighting concerns over their treatment including arbitrary detention and mass expulsion.

War-torn Libya is regularly criticised for its handling of migrants, with rights groups alleging horrific treatment by smuggling gangs and inside state-run detention centres.

“Libyan authorities have arrested thousands of men, women and children from the streets and their homes or following raids on alleged traffickers´ camps and warehouses,” the UN´s Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) said in a statement.

Many, including “pregnant women and children”, are held in “overcrowded and unsanitary” conditions, UNSMIL said.