Libyan guards shot dead six African migrants in a detention centre in Tripoli on Friday, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said, denouncing “terrible” living conditions in the overcrowded place.
The shooting took place in the Al-Mabani detention centre where some 3,000 migrants are being held, IOM official Federico Soda told AFP. “Six migrants in total were killed by the guards,” he said.
“We do not know what caused the incident but it is in connection with the overcrowding of migrants who live in terrible and tense conditions,” he added. “Many migrants escaped during the chaos.
According to Soda, the Al-Mabani detention centre has a capacity of 1,000 detainees but more than 3,000 are crowded there, about 2,000 of them outside the main building but within the complex perimeter.
“Their detention is arbitrary. Many of them have their papers in order but are stranded in the country,” he said.
In early October, Libyan forces in Tripoli raided migrant shelters, which led to the killing of one migrant was killed and the injuring of at least 15 others.