According to the U.N. Migration Agency, Growing numbers of African
migrants passing through Libya are traded in what they call
slave markets before being held for ransom, forced labour or
sexual exploitation.
When interviewed by the International Organization for Migration (IOM), West African migrants recounted being bought and
sold in garages and car parks in the southern city of Sabha, one
of Libya's main migrant smuggling hubs for between $200 and $500.
"Migrants are being sold in the market as a commodity... Selling human beings is becoming a trend among smugglers
as the smuggling networks in Libya are becoming stronger and
stronger." And most of them are from Nigeria, Senegal and Gambia - are
captured as they head north towards Libya's Mediterranean coast,
where some try to catch boats for Italy.
Othman Belbeisi, head of the
IOM's Libya mission, said,
Along the way they are prey to an array of armed groups and
smuggling networks that often try to extort extra money in
exchange for allowing migrants to continue.
Most migrants are used as day labourers in construction or
agriculture. Some are paid and others are forced to work without
pay. for women, it is worse as, they are raped and forced into prostitution.
rape and being forced into prostitution."
rape and being forced into prostitution."
