An airstrike targeted at a detention center for migrants in the suburb of the Libyan capital of Tripoli on Wednesday killed at least 40 people and injured 80, said Malek Merset, a spokesman for the health ministry of the country’s UN-supported government, reported BBC.
The center is located next to a military camp in the eastern suburb of Tajoura. It houses more than 600 people. The part of the detention center that was hit held some 150 male refugees and migrants from African countries such as Sudan, Eritrea, and Somalia.
The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) posted on its official Twitter page that it was “extremely concerned” about the news of the airstrikes targeting the Tajoura detention center.
“UNHCR is extremely concerned about news of air strikes targeting Tajoura detention center east of Tripoli, and accounts of refugees and migrants deceased,” it tweeted. “Civilians should never be a target.”
The UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli condemned the horrific crime in a statement and blamed Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar, who launched a war against the UN-backed Libyan government three months ago to seize the capital, for the airstrike.
“This crime came after the statements of the air force commander of Haftar’s Libyan National Army, Muhammad al-Manfour, and therefore it is he who bears its legal and moral responsibility,” Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha told al-Wasat state radio.
Notably, Haftar’s Libyan National Army (LNA) had announced on Monday that it would start heavy air strikes on targets in Tripoli after “traditional means” of war had been exhausted. The LNA said its warplanes had bombed a pro-government camp near the center and pro-government forces had fired shells in response, hitting the migrant center by accident.
The Libya government called for the UN support mission to establish a fact-finding committee to investigate.
“We ask the international community through the African Union, European Union and (other) organizations to take a firm and clear stance against these continued violations,” the statement said.
