Libyan authorities have arrested two people in connection to the killing of at least 15 migrants in Sabratah.
Libya’s Public Prosecutor, Ali Zubaydah, told the press that, in addition to arresting the two suspects, security forces have raided five detention facilities where migrants are held captive the city.
159 migrants, who were detained in those facilities, were released. Security forces also confiscated equipment, boats, weapons and survival kits which they found in the facilities.
Libyan rescue workers have recovered at least 15 bodies found on the coast in Sabratha including a number burned in a boat and others on the beach, a member of the Red Crescent in the city said on Friday.
A security source in Sabratha said the dead people were migrants caught in a dispute between two rival groups of people smugglers in the northwest city, a major hub for illegal migration across the Mediterranean.
Pictures shared on social media showed a burning boat on a beach with dark smoke pouring from it and what appeared to be the same vessel, scorched inside and containing charred human remains.
Both the U.S. and the U.N. have condemned the killings and called for investigation into the incident.