More than 100 migrants, including five women, were recently freed in eastern Libya after being held for ransom by a criminal gang. Libya’s attorney general announced the rescue on Monday.
The group was involved in migrant smuggling, illicit trafficking, and torture, according to a statement from the attorney general. They reportedly coerced families into paying ransoms for their loved ones’ release.
Libya has become a perilous transit route for migrants seeking to escape conflict and poverty in their home countries. Many attempt the dangerous journey across the desert and Mediterranean Sea to reach Europe, a route that emerged after Muammar Gaddafi’s overthrow in 2011.
These freed migrants had been held captive in Ajdabiya, approximately 100 miles from Benghazi. Desperate to cross into Europe, many migrants unfortunately fall victim to traffickers.
Officials confirmed the arrest of five suspected traffickers, with individuals from Libya, Sudan, and Egypt among them. Authorities found images on the suspects’ mobile phones depicting migrants with cuffed hands and legs, bearing visible signs of beatings.
This rescue follows other grim discoveries in Libya. In February, officials recovered at least 28 bodies from a mass grave north of Kufra city, attributing their deaths to a gang that subjected migrants to torture. Another 19 bodies were found in a mass grave in the Jikharra area, with a known smuggling network blamed.
According to May UN data, roughly 825,000 migrants from 47 countries were recorded in Libya as of December 2024. Last week, EU migration officials and ministers from Italy, Malta, and Greece met with Libyan Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah to discuss the ongoing migration crisis.