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At a time when attempts by immigrants and refugees to flood into Europe surged, Libya stepped up maritime interceptions.
The UN refugee agency said that after two days of detaining 4,000 people in Tripoli during a mass crackdown, the Libyan Coast Guard intercepted a wooden boat carrying about 500 European migrants and refugees.
According to UNHCR, the ship was intercepted on Sunday and people disembarked at an oil refinery in the western town of Zawiye, a major launch site for immigrants and refugees. These include nationals of Sudan, Somalia, Bangladesh and Syria.
The maritime interception marks the latest such intervention in recent months in the context of a surge in transits and attempts to transit from North African countries to the coast of Europe.
The Libyan Coast Guard intercepted about 90 migrants on Saturday, including eight women and three children, and sent them back to Tripoli. The UN agency said it also found the bodies of two migrants, while another 40 people are still missing at sea.
on Friday, 4000 immigrants detainedIncluding hundreds of women and children, living in the western town of Gargaresh.
The authorities described it as a security campaign against undocumented immigrants and drug trafficking, but the Ministry of the Interior, which led the crackdown, did not mention arresting traffickers or smugglers.
Georgette Gagnon, United Nations Assistant Secretary-General and Humanitarian Coordinator in Libya, said in a statement on Saturday that when Libyan security authorities conducted raids on houses and temporary shelters, one migrant was killed, at least Fifteen people were injured, of which 6 were seriously injured. Gargaresh’s temporary shelter.
“The United Nations reaffirms that the excessive and unreasonable use of lethal force by security and police forces in law enforcement operations violates national and international laws,” Gagnon said.
“We call on the Libyan authorities to investigate reports of the deadly and excessive use of force by the security forces against migrants in yesterday’s operation.”
Libya has become a major transit point for immigrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East.Intercepted people are often taken to detention centers, international organizations including Human Rights Watch found Violent abuse Prevail.
According to data from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), in the first nine months of 2021, about 44,000 people will cross the central Mediterranean from Tunisia and Libya to the coast of Europe.
More than 25,000 people were intercepted by the Libyan Coast Guard trained and equipped by the European Union and returned to the war-torn country.
According to reports, more than 1,100 migrants died or were presumed dead near Libya during the same period.
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