Libya migrants: Smuggling network arrest warrants issued
Libya has issued 205 arrest warrants
for Libyans and foreigners suspected of being involved in a smuggling
network for migrants heading to Europe.
They include accusations of human trafficking, torture, murder and rape.
The
Libyan attorney general's office said the network included members of
the security services, migrant detention camp leaders, and officials
from African embassies in Libya.
Libya has been in turmoil since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
Power is dispersed between different militias and two rival governments, allowing illegal activities to thrive.
The
country has become a key point on the route of hundreds of thousands of
sub-Saharan African migrants trying to reach Europe by sea.
The
investigations into smuggling networks are being carried out in
conjunction with the Italian prosecutor's office after a joint unit -
pooling intelligence, coastguard and justice resources - was set up last
year by the two countries.
The director of the attorney general's
investigations office, Seddik al-Sour, said many immigration department
officials had been found to be involved
"There are 205 warrants
against the persons who organised the illegal immigration and the human
trafficking, and the torture, the killing and the rapes," he told
reporters.
His office had detected a direct link between smugglers and the Islamic State group, he added.
BBC
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