Air strike kills at least 40 migrants in Tripoli detention centre

An air strike has hit a detention centre for migrants in the Libyan capital, killing at least 40 people, a health official in the country's UN-supported government said.

Conflicts 10:17 03.07.2019

The air strike targeting the centre in Tripoli's Tajoura neighbourhood on Wednesday (local time) also wounded 80 migrants, said Malek Merset, a spokesman for the Health Ministry. Merset posted photos of migrants who were being taken in ambulances to hospitals.

Footage circulating online and said to be from inside the centre, which houses 616 migrants and refugees, showed blood and body parts mixed with rubble and migrants' belongings.

The UN refugee agency in Libya condemned the air strike.

The Tripoli-based government blamed the self-styled Libyan National Army, led by Khalifa Hifter, for the strike and called for the UN support mission in Libya to establish a fact-finding committee to investigate.
A spokesman for Hifter's forces did not immediately answer phone calls and messages seeking comment. Local media reported LNA had launched air strikes against a militia camp near the detention centre.
 
The LNA launched an offensive against the weak Tripoli-based government in April. Hifter's forces control much of the country's east and south but were dealt a significant blow last week when militias allied with the Tripoli government reclaimed the strategic town of Gharyan, about 100 kilometres from the capital. Gharyan had been a key supply route for the LNA forces.
 
Many camps for militias loosely allied with the UN-supported government are in Tajoura, and Hifter forces have targeted such camps with air strikes in the past weeks. The LNA said on Monday it had begun an air campaign on rival forces in Tripoli after it lost control of Gharyan.

The fighting for Tripoli has threatened to plunge Libya into another bout of violence on the scale of the 2011 conflict that ousted longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi and led to his death.

Hifter says he is determined to restore stability to the North African country. He is backed by Egypt, United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia while his rivals, mainly Islamists, in Tripoli are supported by Turkey and Qatar.

His campaign against Islamic militants across Libya since 2014 won him growing international support from world leaders who say they are concerned that Libya has turned into a haven for armed groups, and a major conduit for migrants bound for Europe.

His opponents however view him as an aspiring autocrat and fear a return to one-man rule.

At least 6000 migrants from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia, Sudan and other nations are locked in dozens of detention facilities in Libya that are run by militias accused of torture and other human rights abuses. Most of the migrants were apprehended by European Union-funded and trained Libyan coast guards while trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea into Europe.

Read more:

 

IEPF issued a statement regarding Azerbaijani children at the UN Human Rights Council

News line

WB allocates $2M for preparation of sustainable development project in Baku
22:00 02.07.2025
Malaysia inviting Azerbaijan to participate in trade incentive program
21:45 02.07.2025
Malaysia expects further expansion of palm oil trade with Azerbaijan
21:30 02.07.2025
EBRD updates current portfolio of projects in Azerbaijan
21:30 02.07.2025
12 Georgian MPs lose parliamentary mandates
21:00 02.07.2025
Asan Jakishev: Kazakhstan strengthens status as key transit hub in region
20:40 02.07.2025
Zakharova: 'We call on Baku to take measures to return ties to level of strategic alliance'
20:30 02.07.2025
Kyrgyz ambassador to Azerbaijan also appointed as envoy to Georgia
20:20 02.07.2025
Bangladesh court sentences ex-Premier Hasina in contempt case; first conviction since ouster
20:00 02.07.2025
Russia says reduction or cessation of Western arms supplies to Ukraine brings conflict closer to its end
19:45 02.07.2025
Israeli prosecution cancels Netanyahu’s corruption trial sessions next week over US visit
19:30 02.07.2025
Mamasadyk Bakirov: Kyrgyzstan creates all necessary conditions for business
19:15 02.07.2025
Lachin holds panel session on Role of Women in Urban Development
19:00 02.07.2025
Central banks of Azerbaijan, Georgia mull implementation of systems supported by AI
18:45 02.07.2025
Azerbaijani military personnel participate in International Anatolian Eagle-2025
18:30 02.07.2025
Shavkat Mirziyoyev to open Uzbekistan park in Baku
18:15 02.07.2025
Peskov: Head of Russia's Investigative Committee, Azerbaijan's prosecutor general mull problematic issues
18:00 02.07.2025
South Korean ex-premier, minister summoned over Yoon’s martial law probe
17:45 02.07.2025
Trump says Israel has agreed to 'necessary conditions' to finalize 60-day ceasefire in Gaza
17:30 02.07.2025
DR Congo-Rwanda peace deal ‘does not address serious crimes committed in the east': Amnesty International
17:15 02.07.2025
China again urges its citizens to avoid travel to Iran
17:00 02.07.2025
Australia's Qantas says 6 million customer accounts accessed in cyber hack
16:45 02.07.2025
US accuses UN expert of ‘economic warfare’ over report on companies aiding Israeli occupation
16:30 02.07.2025
150 National Guard troops reassigned from Los Angeles security mission to wildfire response
16:00 02.07.2025
Israeli strikes kill another 29 Palestinians in Gaza Strip
15:45 02.07.2025
Revenue of China’s software industry grows by 11.2%
15:30 02.07.2025
President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev’s one-on-one meeting with President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev begins
15:20 02.07.2025
Zakharova: Friendly relations between Russia, Azerbaijan extremely important
15:15 02.07.2025
President of Northern Cyprus arrives in Azerbaijan
15:00 02.07.2025
COP29 president: US withdrawal from Paris agreement won't stop global climate movement
14:45 02.07.2025
President of Uzbekistan arrives in Azerbaijan on state visit
14:30 02.07.2025
Saudi Arabia receives written message from Iran
14:15 02.07.2025
Percentage of female students studying in Azerbaijan revealed
14:00 02.07.2025
Five of Russia's neighbors withdraw from Ottawa Treaty
13:45 02.07.2025
Bahar Muradova: Azerbaijan ready to share experience in expanding women's economic rights
13:30 02.07.2025
Prosecutor General's Office: Ziyaddin Safarov died in vehicle of Russian law enforcement agencies
13:15 02.07.2025
Adviser to Uzbek FM: Relations with Azerbaijan demonstrating steady growth in all areas
13:00 02.07.2025
ECO: Significant steps should be taken to increase women's digital skills
12:45 02.07.2025
Some Russian groups want to create crisis in relations with Azerbaijan
12:30 02.07.2025
Israel-Iran ceasefire set to drive oil prices toward $60 range: Experts
12:15 02.07.2025
Hamısı