"They set fire to vaginas and breasts there’: UN investigates mass migrant graves, other horrors in Libya."

A United Nations fact-finding mission is investigating reports of mass migrant graves in Libya, as part of a general effort to determine violations of human rights in the country.

Migrants interviewed by the UN Human Rights Council Fact-Finding mission on Libya, "continue to share alarming information on the situation in Bani Walid, a trafficking hub around 130 kilometers south-east of Misrata."

In the mission’s latest report published March 28, authors detail allegations from eight migrant respondents, as well as their own observations on the ground in Libya.

The mission found that there were "reasonable grounds to believe that migrants were held captive, murdered tortured and raped [around Bani Walid.]"

Several migrants told the mission about the existence of mass graves in Bani Walid, with one of them saying he had buried three bodies himself in such a grave. The authors said they are still "seeking to verify this information."

Forensic expert investigating

One mission member told Reuters that a forensic expert had been appointed to investigate the graves further. The mission did however establish that many other crimes had and were taking place in Libya against migrants.

The mission also documented "further cases of murder, torture, inhumane acts, rape, persecution and enslavement of migrants by some State authorities, militias, armed groups and traffickers, employing a consistent pattern of conduct."

The authors further found that "thousands of people were intercepted by the Libyan coastguard and brought back to Libya where they faced arbitrary detention in inhumane conditions, torture and other ill-treatment."

'Excessive use of force'

The mission found that there was an "excessive use of force" in operation in some of the detention centers under the control of the DCIM "as well as inhumane conditions of detention." Whilst the reporting was underway, one of the detention centers, Shari Al Zawiya, where the mission was investigating allegations of sexual violence by guards was shut down.

Several migrants interviewed from East Africa told the mission they had been raped and sexually abused whilst detained in prisons like Beni Walid. One woman, detailed the report, said that guards had threatened that her husband, also in the prison, would be killed if she did not submit to them.

Three other women said that prison guards at Beni Walid would often come in drunk while women were sleeping at night and pick some of them for rape. This, said the mission authors, was a "confirmed pattern."

Tortured and burned

In March 2022, an 18-year-old Sudanese migrant died "from injuries apparently inflicted on him by human traffickers." This young man was also one of those interviewed by the fact-finders prior to his death. He told them he had been tortured by traffickers who had demanded a ransom for his release from his family and then set him on fire when the money was not paid. This incident occurred in Sebha in Libya's southwest, says the report.

The fact-finders also discovered that "Libyan authorities have been either unable or unwilling to protect migrants against abuses by traffickers and to hold perpetrators to account." Those who have been brought to justice tend to be in European cities...Click on the link below to read the complete piece.

https://nigeriabroad.com/-they-set-fire-to-vaginas-and-breasts-there---un-investigates-mass-migrant-graves--other-horrors-in-libya

Mynd44, Om4J

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Na 2day den dey tell person say snake dey bite. Dey @ aware of dis ting bt dey choose to risk dere life so wetin make we do now. What is difference between Nigeria and Libya sef.