Libya arrests 'main suspect' in killing of 30 migrants

The episode highlighted the trafficking of young people from Bangladesh through Libya and on to Europe

• 

  Rescued migrants wait on board a Libyan coastguard vessel as it arrives at a naval base in the capital Tripoli. AFP

• 

  Rescued migrants receive food aid as they leave a coastguard vessel in Tripoli, Libya. AFP

• 

  Rescued migrants onboard a coastguard vessel in Libya. At least 95 migrants, including six women and two children, were saved after their boat capsized. AFP

• 

  Rescued migrants arrive at a naval base in Tripoli. Some were taken to hospital to be treated for burns and hypothermia. AFP

• 

  At least 95 migrants have been rescued off the coast of Libya after their boat sank as they attempted to make their way to Europe. AFP

• 

  Snacks are distributed among the rescued migrants in Tripoli. AFP

• 

  At least 95 migrants were rescued and taken to a naval base in Tripoli, but about 15 died after their boat sank. AFP

• 

  The group was rescued by a Libyan coastguard vessel. It was the second time a migrant boat sank off the coast of Libya in about a week. AFP

• 

  A rescued migrant lies on a stretcher at a naval base in Tripoli. Many of the survivors were burnt by engine fuel and others suffered hypothermia. AFP

One of the main suspects in the murder in Libya of 30 mostly Bangladeshi migrants last year was arrested on Monday, authorities in Tripoli said.

In May 2020, the family of a human trafficker killed by migrants for reasons unknown allegedly avenged his death by killing 26 Bangladeshis and four migrants of African origin.

The killings took place in May in the city of Mezdah, more than 150 kilometres south of Libya's capital. Eleven other migrants were wounded.

One of the alleged killers, 23, was arrested Monday in Gharyan, about 100 kilometres south-west of the capital, the unity government's Interior Ministry said.

Wanted by the authorities, "he confessed his crime" under questioning, the ministry said, without revealing his identity.

"Just after the tragic attack of May 2020, I ordered the local authorities in Mezdah to issue arrest warrants against those responsible for the murders," Interior Minister Fathi Bashagha told AFP.

"The arrest of the main suspect is a major victory," he said, calling it proof that such crimes could not be committed with impunity in Libya.

The affair had caused outrage in Bangladesh, which demanded Libyan authorities investigate the murders, bring the perpetrators to account and compensate relatives.

A Bangladeshi accused of heading a trafficking ring with "links to international traffickers implicated in this incident" was arrested in the Asian nation's capital, Dhaka, in June last year.

The episode highlighted the trafficking of young people from Bangladesh, through Libya and onwards on death-defying boat journeys towards Europe.

Tens of thousands of Bangladeshis have attempted to cross the Mediterranean in recent years, giving Libyan smugglers a large market for extortion.

Years of chaos following the 2011 ousting and killing of dictator Muammar Qaddafi have made Libya a launch pad for migrants from Asia, East Africa and the sub-Sahara seeking to reach Europe.

Several thousand are stranded in poor conditions in Libya.

Tripoli's Government of National Accord has for years vied for control of Libya with a rival administration in the east.

A multitude of armed groups and foreign forces exercise considerable control.

Both are in the process of being replaced by an interim government selected in a UN-backed process and mandated to lead the country to elections in December.