The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) on Sunday strongly condemned the heinous killing of at least 15 migrants and asylum-seekers near the Mediterranean coastal city of Sabratha, reported The Anadolu Agency.
Libyan rescuers recovered the bodies of the migrants on Friday after an alert was issued about a fire on a boat. The bodies were found on a beach on Friday morning, according to the U.N. and the Libyan Red Crescent. Eleven charred bodies were found inside the docked boat with a further four wounded bodies found outside.
In a statement, the UNSMIL said the killings reportedly resulted from clashes between rival traffickers but the exact circumstances are yet to be determined.
It urged authorities in the North African nation “to ensure a swift, independent and transparent investigation to bring all perpetrators to justice.”
Libya became one of the main transit routes for migrants even before the 2011 uprising that overthrew Dictator Muammar Gaddafi. The country is considered the world’s deadliest migration route across the Mediterranean to Europe.
Rights groups have repeatedly accused Libyan authorities and armed groups of torture, sexual abuse and human trafficking and other abuses.
According to the UNSMIL, the latest killings are a stark reminder of the lack of protection for migrants and asylum seekers face in Libya, and the widespread human rights violations undertaken by powerful trafficking and criminal networks who need to be swiftly stopped and prosecuted.
As per Libyan media reports, the dispute between people smugglers led to opening of fire on the migrants. One of the groups involved in the dispute set fire to the boat.
On Monday, the International Organization for Migration said more than 14,000 migrants have been intercepted and returned to Libya since the beginning of the year.
At least 216 people have lost their lives while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea and 724 are missing and presumed dead.
