Pressure Grows on Europe to Address Perils of the Migrant Passage Through Libya

Pressure Grows on Europe to Address Perils of the Migrant Passage Through Libya
Migrants and refugees wave for help from inside a wooden boat 21 miles north of Sabratha, Libya, Feb. 3, 2017 (AP photo by Emilio Morenatti).

Editor’s Note: Every Friday, Associate Editor Robbie Corey-Boulet curates the top news and analysis from and about the African continent.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) says it’s “deeply concerned” about the fate of more than 200 migrants from Somalia and Ethiopia who are being held captive by criminal gangs in Libya. They were shown “huddled fearfully in a concrete room” in a video distributed widely on social media this week. In the video, members of the group complained of starvation and beatings, including having their teeth pulled out. The gangs are apparently seeking ransoms of up to $10,000 per migrant.

The clip briefly focused attention on a problem that has been in the headlines for years now but doesn’t seem to be improving. In an interview with Reuters, the IOM’s European Union director, Eugenio Ambrosi, said EU states need to do more to help the estimated 800,000 migrants stranded in Libya, as well as those who manage to reach Europe. More than 1,850 migrants have died this year trying to cross the Mediterranean; 2,500 were rescued at sea just last weekend. In Niger, meanwhile, authorities on Wednesday reported having rescued more than 100 migrants abandoned in the desert by the smugglers who had promised to ferry them to Libya.

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