Dozens wounded as 140 East African migrants escape traffickers

According to reports from the UN, at least 15 migrants were killed and dozens wounded when a group of migrants escaped Libyan human traffickers in the town of Bani Walid, 145 kilometres south east of Tripoli.

On the night of 23-24 May, approximately 140 migrants, mostly teenagers from Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia managed to escape captivity from a notorious trafficker known as Mousa Diab, who was holding them at an area west of Bani Walid.

According to Doctors Without Borders, the escaped migrants reported they were sold multiple times between the towns of Bani Walid and Nesma.

The fleeing migrants were shot at by smugglers as they escaped, resulting in several casualties. At least 25 migrants were referred to General Hospital of Bani Walid, according to MSF whose medical teams assisted the hospital in providing medical care to the escaped hostages.

Among the wounded, 18 suffered minor injuries and received first aid and seven were hospitalised for further care due to serious gunshot wounds and multiple fractures.

The hospital in Bani Walid said that around 20 migrants were also being treated for injuries from torture.

Survivors told MSF at least 15 people were dead and said at least 40 people, mainly women, were left behind.

Some of the survivors said they had been held captive for up to three years. The MSF medical team in the area reported that scars on their bodies, visible marks of electrical burns, and old infected wounds showed the extent of torture the migrants had suffered during captivity.

The survivors were transferred to a security facility inside the town of Bani Walid and on the morning of 24 May were transferred to a detention centre on the outskirts of Tripoli.

Since their arrival in Tripoli, 117 individuals have been provided with medical and psychosocial assistance, as well as supplementary feeding. Fourteen severely wounded patients with gunshot injuries and multiples fractures have been referred to hospital.

Migrants in Libya say smugglers are now operating further inland, especially around Bani Walid where they run around 20 clandestine prisons.

Migrants, who are frequently tortured or raped in order to extort money from them or their families, are being held for longer, Reuters reported. Hundreds more remain in the captivity of smugglers and traffickers.

Photo credit: MSF. Photo caption: MSF staff providing care to migrants and refugees.

TMP – 11/06/2018