By Reuters – Feb 08,2018 – JORDAN TIMES
Members of the self-styled Libyan National Army, loyal to the country’s east strongman Khalifa Haftar, patrol the roads leading into the eastern city of Benghazi on Wednesday (AFP photo)
UNITED NATIONS — Most armed groups involved in human smuggling and trafficking in Libya have links to the country’s official security institutions, sanctions experts said in a confidential report to a UN Security Council committee seen by Reuters on Wednesday.
People smugglers operating with impunity in Libya have sent hundreds of thousands of migrants to Europe, mainly Italy, by sea since 2014. Thousands have died during the voyages.
“Armed groups, which were party to larger poltical-military coalitions, have specialised in illegal smuggling activities, notably human smuggling and trafficking,” experts reported to the 15-member Security Council committee. They said most of these armed groups “were nominally affiliated to official security institutions”.
read more:
Categories: Africa, Libya, North Africa