The killing of 30 “revenge” migrants in a small town in Libya is horrifying. The Libyan PNS Foreign Ministry today condemned this act, calling it “brutal” and even “disgusting slaughter.”
The government also reports that this will not go unpunished. The Doctors Without Borders aid agency reported on Twitter that the crime was another “terrible reason” for which Libya was not and is still not safe.
According to government officials, this act was revenge for the murder of a person who is believed to be involved in smuggling. As a result, this man’s relatives killed 26 migrants from Bangladesh and four from Africa in the desert city of Misda. Eleven other migrants were injured. Perpetrators will be wanted.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has asked local authorities to conduct an investigation. “This senseless criminal is a gloomy reminder of the horror that migrants experience through the fault of smugglers and traffickers in Libya,” said IOM Director in the North African country, Federico Soda.
IOM stated that the victims were in the warehouse and were killed there on Wednesday. “Criminal groups” have taken advantage of the instability and security situation in Libya to exploit desperate people, Soda said.
The Libyan news site al-Wasat, citing a witness, said that the attackers entered the room and “eliminated” the people.