The United Nations on Thursday said it has got reports that claim Libyan guards fired bullets at refugees and migrants trying to flee from air strikes that killed at least 60 people and wounded 77 others at a migration detention center near the capital, Tripoli, reported Reuters.
According to a report from the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), two attacks hit Tripoli late on Tuesday, one hitting an unoccupied garage and the other hitting a hangar holding about 120 people in the center in Tajoura, east of Tripoli.
“There are reports that following the first impact, some refugees and migrants were fired upon by guards as they tried to escape,” it said.
As per the report, bodies were still being recovered from the rubble, which means the death toll could rise. At least six children were among those killed.
UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Michelle Bachelet has said the air strikes could constitute a war crime.
The UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), led by PM Fayez al-Sarraj, has accused the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA), commanded by Gen Khalifa Haftar, of carrying out “heinous, premeditated, precise” air strikes.
The LNA, on the other hand, said its warplanes had bombed a pro-government camp near the centre and pro-government forces had fired shells in response, hitting the migrant centre by accident. Haftar launched an offensive in April to seize Tripoli.
The United Nations and the European Union have called out for an investigation into the Wednesday attack.
Meanwhile, Interior Minister Fathi Ali Bashagha said the Libyan government is planning to shut all detention centres for migrants and releasing the inmates.
The UN has called for refugees and migrants to be released and provided safe shelter.
