Migrant expulsions from Tunisia to Libya fuel extortion, abuse -UN briefing

Migrant expulsions from Tunisia to Libya fuel extortion, abuse -UN briefing
Tunisian border guards have rounded up migrants and passed them to counterparts in Libya where they have faced forced labour, extortion, torture and killing, according to a confidential UN human rights briefing. (AFP/File)
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Updated 11 June 2024
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Migrant expulsions from Tunisia to Libya fuel extortion, abuse -UN briefing

Migrant expulsions from Tunisia to Libya fuel extortion, abuse -UN briefing
  • The two nations are vital partners in the European Union’s efforts to stem the flow of migrants across the Mediterranean
  • Hundreds of migrants in Tunisia were caught in a wave of detentions and expulsions to Libya in the second half of last year

NAIROBI: Tunisian border guards have rounded up migrants and passed them to counterparts in Libya where they have faced forced labor, extortion, torture and killing, according to a confidential UN human rights briefing seen by Reuters.
The two nations are vital partners in the European Union’s efforts to stem the flow of migrants across the Mediterranean from North Africa into southern Europe.
Hundreds of migrants in Tunisia were caught in a wave of detentions and expulsions to Libya in the second half of last year, according to the briefing, dated Jan. 23. It was based on interviews with 18 former detainees as well as photographic and video evidence of torture in one of the facilities.
Tarek Lamloun, a Libyan human rights expert, said such transfers had taken place as recently as early May. About 2,000 migrants detained by Tunisia had been passed to the Libyans this year, he said, citing interviews with more than 30 migrants
The UN briefing, which has not been previously reported, was shared with diplomats in the region.
“Collective expulsions from Tunisia to Libya and the associated arbitrary detention of migrants are fueling extortion rackets and cycles of abuse, which are already widespread human rights issues in Libya,” the UN briefing said.
Libyan officials were demanding thousands of dollars in exchange for releasing some migrants, according to the briefing.
“The situation serves the interest of those who prey on the vulnerable, including human traffickers,” it added.
Neither Libyan nor Tunisian authorities responded to requests for comment on the UN briefing.
A spokesperson for the UN mission in Libya said they could not comment. On April 16, Abdoulaye Bathily, then the top UN official there, said he was “deeply concerned about the dire situation of migrants and refugees in Libya who endure human rights violations throughout the migration process.”
The European Union said last year it would spend 800 million euros through 2024 across North Africa to stem the flow of migrants across the Mediterranean. Immigration was a leading concern for voters in European elections last week that saw far-right parties make gains.
In the first four months of this year, arrivals of migrants in Europe via the central Mediterranean were down over 60 percent from the same period of 2023. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni said on June 4 the decline was “above all” due to help from Tunisia and Libya.
Rights groups, however, say the EU policy of farming out immigration control to third countries in return for aid leads to abuse and fails to address the underlying issues.
In May, Tunisia’s President Kais Saied said hundreds of people were arriving every day and his country was coordinating migrant returns with neighbors. The government has in the past said it respects human rights. Libyan authorities say they work with neighbors to solve migration issues.
Reuters was unable to verify independently the accounts of abuse in the UN briefing.
A UN fact-finding mission concluded last year that crimes against humanity had been committed against migrants in Libya in some detention centers managed by units that received backing from the EU.
A spokesperson for the European Commission did not provide answers to questions sent by Reuters.

BURNED ALIVE, SHOT
The latest UN briefing said there was a pattern where Tunisian border officials coordinated with Libyan counterparts to transfer migrants to either Al-Assa or Nalout detention facilities, just over the border in Libya.
Migrants are held for periods varying from a few days to several weeks before they are transferred to the Bir Al-Ghanam detention facility, closer to Tripoli, the briefing said.
The facilities are managed by Libya’s Department to Combat Illegal Migration (DCIM) and the Libyan Coast Guard.
The UN report said that the DCIM has continuously denied UN officials access to the locations.
Migrants interviewed for the UN briefing came from Palestine, Syria, Sudan and South Sudan. Getting information from African migrants was harder as they were being deported and communication with them was more complicated.
Three of the migrants interviewed had scars and signs of torture, the briefing said.
The UN briefing from January described the conditions at Al-Assa and Bir Al-Ghanam as “abhorrent.”
“Hundreds of detainees have been crammed in hangars and cells, often with one functional toilet, and no sanitation or ventilation,” it said.
At Bir Al-Ghana, officials allegedly extorted migrants $2,500-$4,000 for their release, depending on their nationality.
In the Al-Assa facility, border guards burned alive a Sudanese man and shot another detainee for unknown reasons, witnesses told the UN, according to the January briefing.
Former detainees identified people traffickers among the border guard officials working there, it added.
“The current approach to migration and border management is not working,” the January briefing said, calling for Libya to decriminalize migrants who enter the country illegally and for all international support for border management to adhere to human rights.


Syria’s new president invited to emergency Arab League summit in Egypt

Syria’s new president invited to emergency Arab League summit in Egypt
Updated 5 sec ago
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Syria’s new president invited to emergency Arab League summit in Egypt

Syria’s new president invited to emergency Arab League summit in Egypt
DAMASCUS: Syria’s new President Ahmed Al-Sharaa received an invitation from Egyptian counterpart Abdel Fattah El-Sisi to take part in an emergency Arab League summit in Egypt on March 4, the Syrian presidency said in a statement on Sunday.
Also on Sunday, Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit met Jordan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi to prepare for next month’s emergency Arab summit and discuss the latest developments in Gaza.
The talks focused on consolidating ceasefire efforts and ensuring sustainable humanitarian aid delivery, the Jordan News Agency reported.
Aboul Gheit and Safadi reiterated their rejection of any forced displacement of Palestinians and expressed support for Egypt’s reconstruction plan for Gaza, which would allow residents to remain in their homes.
They warned against escalating tensions in the occupied West Bank and called for an end to illegal Israeli actions. They also reaffirmed their belief that the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, remained the only viable path to lasting regional peace.
Safadi and Aboul Gheit also discussed the situation in Syria and stressed the need to ensure stability and the safety of its citizens.

Arab League reaffirms commitment to Palestinian cause

Arab League reaffirms commitment to Palestinian cause
Updated 45 min 10 sec ago
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Arab League reaffirms commitment to Palestinian cause

Arab League reaffirms commitment to Palestinian cause
  • Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit meets Jordan’s FM ahead of Arab summit
  • Assistant chief Haifa Abu Ghazaleh speaks at civil society conference

CAIRO: The Arab League on Sunday reaffirmed its position that the Palestinian cause is a matter of both land and people and described all attempts to displace Palestinians as violations of international law.

The organization described attempts at annexation, settlement expansion and forced displacement as forms of ethnic cleansing — attempts that had repeatedly failed in the past, the Saudi Press Agency reported.

The comments were made by Arab League Assistant Secretary-General Haifa Abu Ghazaleh during the opening session of the Palestine and the Role of Civil Society conference, which opened in Cairo on Sunday.

Abu Ghazaleh, who is also head of the social affairs sector at the Arab League, highlighted the critical role of civil society in Gaza’s postwar reconstruction and called for international cooperation to ensure aid delivery, accelerate rebuilding efforts and reject all forms of displacement.

She also emphasized the urgent need for relief measures and clear mechanisms to oversee humanitarian initiatives.

Also on Sunday, Arab League Secretary-General Ahmed Aboul Gheit met Jordan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs Ayman Safadi to prepare for next month’s emergency Arab summit and discuss the latest developments in Gaza.

The talks focused on consolidating ceasefire efforts and ensuring sustainable humanitarian aid delivery, the Jordan News Agency reported.

Aboul Gheit and Safadi reiterated their rejection of any forced displacement of Palestinians and expressed support for Egypt’s reconstruction plan for Gaza, which would allow residents to remain in their homes.

They warned against escalating tensions in the occupied West Bank and called for an end to illegal Israeli actions. They also reaffirmed their belief that the establishment of a sovereign Palestinian state based on the 1967 borders, with East Jerusalem as its capital, remained the only viable path to lasting regional peace.

Safadi and Aboul Gheit also discussed the situation in Syria and stressed the need to ensure stability and the safety of its citizens.


Israel demands ‘complete demilitarization’ of southern Syria

Israel demands ‘complete demilitarization’ of southern Syria
Updated 23 February 2025
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Israel demands ‘complete demilitarization’ of southern Syria

Israel demands ‘complete demilitarization’ of southern Syria
  • The same day Assad was ousted, Israel announced that its troops were entering a UN-patrolled buffer zone that has separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the strategic Golan Heights since 1974

JERUSALEM: Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said on Sunday that southern Syria must be demilitarized entirely, warning that Israel would not accept the presence of the forces of the Damascus government near its territory.
“We will not allow forces from the HTS organization or the new Syrian army to enter the area south of Damascus,” Netanyahu said, referring to Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham, which spearheaded the offensive that toppled Bashar Assad in December.
“We demand the complete demilitarization of southern Syria, including the Quneitra, Daraa, and Suwayda provinces,” Netanyahu declared at a military ceremony.
The same day Assad was ousted, Israel announced that its troops were entering a UN-patrolled buffer zone that has separated Israeli and Syrian forces on the strategic Golan Heights since 1974.
Israel seized much of the Golan Heights from the Syrian Arab Republic in a war in 1967, later annexing the area in a move largely unrecognized by the international community.
Netanyahu said that Israeli forces would remain in the buffer zone “for an indefinite period to protect our communities and thwart any threat.”
Israel carried out hundreds of strikes in Syria during its civil war, which broke out in 2011.
After the lightning offensive that ousted Syria’s longtime President, Assad, Israel carried out hundreds more airstrikes on Syrian military assets in what it said was a bid to prevent them from falling into hostile hands.

 


Witkoff headed to Middle East this week to discuss Gaza peace deal

Witkoff headed to Middle East this week to discuss Gaza peace deal
Updated 23 February 2025
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Witkoff headed to Middle East this week to discuss Gaza peace deal

Witkoff headed to Middle East this week to discuss Gaza peace deal
  • The first phase of the truce ends early in March, and details of a planned subsequent phase have not been agreed

WASHINGTON: US President Donald Trump’s envoy Steve Witkoff said on Sunday that he was headed to the Middle East this week to discuss an extension to phase one of the Israel-Hamas peace deal.
“We have to get an extension of phase one, and so I’ll be going into the region this week, probably Wednesday, to negotiate that,” Witkoff told CNN.
“And we’re hopeful that we have the proper time ... to begin phase two, finish it off, and get more hostages released.”
Hamas on Sunday said Israel had gravely endangered the five-week-old Gaza truce by delaying the release of Palestinian prisoners under the deal because of how Israeli hostages had been freed.
The first phase of the truce ends early in March, and details of a planned subsequent phase have not been agreed.
With tensions again hanging over the deal, which halted more than 15 months of war, Israel on Sunday announced an expansion of military operations in the occupied West Bank.
Asked if he believed Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu wanted to extend the ceasefire or resume fighting, Witkoff said he believed the former.
“I believe the prime minister is well motivated. He wants to see hostages released, that’s for sure. He also wants to protect the state of Israel, and so he’s got a red line,” he said.
The “red line,” he said, was Hamas having a future role in the governance of Gaza.
“I would say at this point, for sure, they can’t be any part of governance in Gaza,” said Witkoff.
“And, you know, as to existing, I’d leave that detail to the prime minister.”
Netanyahu on Sunday said that Israel was prepared to resume fighting in the Gaza Strip “at any moment” while vowing to complete the war’s objectives “whether through negotiation or by other means.”
“We are prepared to resume intense fighting at any moment; our operational plans are ready,” Netanyahu said at a ceremony for combat officers, a day after Israel halted the release of Palestinian prisoners.
“In Gaza, we have eliminated most of Hamas’s organized forces, but let there be no doubt — we will complete the war’s objectives entirely — whether through negotiation or by other means,” he added.
Netanyahu said the prisoner release would be delayed until Hamas ends its “humiliating ceremonies” while freeing Israeli hostages.

 


Sudan army breaks siege on strategic southern state capital

Sudan's army soldiers celebrate after entering Wad Madani, in Sudan, January 12, 2025. (REUTERS)
Sudan's army soldiers celebrate after entering Wad Madani, in Sudan, January 12, 2025. (REUTERS)
Updated 23 February 2025
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Sudan army breaks siege on strategic southern state capital

Sudan's army soldiers celebrate after entering Wad Madani, in Sudan, January 12, 2025. (REUTERS)
  • ‘Strategic victory represents qualitative shift in path of a larger triumph,’ finance minister says

PORT SUDAN: The Sudanese army said Sunday it had broken the siege imposed by the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces on a key southern Sudanese state capital since the war began in April 2023.

Army spokesman Nabil Abdallah said in a statement that forces in North Kordofan state had “managed to reopen the road to El-Obeid and merge” with soldiers east of the city.
El-Obeid — the heart of Sudan’s Kordofan region — sits at a crucial crossroads connecting Khartoum to the country’s western region of Darfur, which the RSF has all but conquered.
“El-Obeid’s strategic importance, especially its airport and its position linking western Sudan with the center and south, makes today’s operation one of the most critical militarily,” a military source said.
Sudan’s finance minister in the government described breaking the siege as a turning point in the conflict.
“This strategic victory represents a qualitative shift in the path of a larger triumph,” Gibril Ibrahim said in a post on Facebook.
He added that it is also “a significant step toward lifting the siege” on North Darfur’s besieged capital of El-Fasher, which has been under RSF siege since May.
Reopening the routes would allow the delivery of essential food and medicine to the Kordofan region, he added.
Witnesses said that thousands of residents had taken to the streets of El-Obeid to celebrate.
The war, which has pitted army chief Gen. Abdel Fattah Al-Burhan against the RSF for nearly two years, has killed tens of thousands, uprooted over 12 million, and created the world’s largest hunger crisis.
Famine has been declared in three displacement camps in the western region of Darfur and parts of the Nuba Mountains in the south.
According to a UN-backed assessment, it is expected to spread to five more areas by May.
Sudan “will not accept” any recognition of a parallel government, Foreign Minister Ali Youssef said on Sunday at a press conference in Cairo.
“We will not accept any other country recognizing a so-called parallel government,” Youssef said, a day after the RSF and a coalition of political and armed groups signed a charter to form a rival administration in rebel-held areas.
Among those who agreed to the charter was a faction of the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement-North, led by Abdelaziz Al-Hilu, which controls parts of the South Kordofan and Blue Nile states in the country’s south.
Abdel Rahim Dagalo, deputy and brother of RSF commander Gen. Mohammed Hamdan Dagalo — who was notably absent — also signed.
The charter calls for “a secular, democratic, decentralized state based on freedom, equality, and justice, without bias toward any cultural, ethnic, religious, or regional identity.”
It also outlines plans for a “new, unified, professional, national army” with a military doctrine that “reflects the diversity and plurality characterizing the Sudanese state.”
The proposed government aims to end the war, ensure unhindered humanitarian aid, and integrate armed groups into a single, national force.