Libya detains migrants in 'anti-drug' raids

Hundreds of migrants were detained in the western Tripoli suburb of Gargaresh Friday, Libya's Interior Ministry said.

Friday's daylong sweep sealed off the dilapidated suburb of Gargaresh 12 kilometers (7.5 miles) west of Tripoli.

The Libyan attorney general said the effort was an attempt to hit "properties exploited in organizing illegal immigration," as well as drug, alcohol and weapons trafficking.

On Twitter, interim Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dbeibah praised the "Interior Ministry heroes" for carrying out the raids on drug dealers who target Libyan youth. 

What do we know about what happened in Gargaresh?

Gargaresh is a known hub for human traffickers who have largely benefited from the chaos in Libya since the 2011 revolution led to the overthrow and death of strongman Moammar Gadhafi, who ruled for decades. Libya is a popular departure point for many hoping to reach Europe.

Witnesses said residents were barred from leaving their homes while the raids took place. Pictures on social media show foreigners in the back of pickup trucks being driven away.

Crews later demolished the ramshackle structures migrants were staying in after they were detained.

Dax Roque, the Norwegian Refugee Council country director for Libya, said: "We are hearing that more than 500 migrants, including women and children, have been rounded up, arbitrarily detained, and are at risk of abuse and ill-treatment."

He added: "Torture, sexual violence and extortion is rampant in Libyan detention centers. We believe this latest wave of arrests is part of wider crackdown by the Libyan authorities on migrants and refugees in Libya."

On Saturday, Libyan authorities said 4,000 had been detained, AP reported, without explanation for the larger, revised number.

Where were the migrants taken?

Police colonel Nouri al-Grettli, who heads the Collection and Return Center in Tripoli, said initially migrants were brought to the facility he operates before being dispersed across Tripoli and the surroundings.

Libya's detention facilities are decrepit places where rights groups say abuses such as sexual assault and torture are commonplace.

One official told AP that the government will "deport as many as possible" even though many have lived in Libya for some time.

Tarik Lamloum, a Libyan activist with Belaady Organization for Human Rights, said many who were detained were registered with the UNHCR as either refugees or asylum-seekers.

ar/aw (AFP, AP)