Libya Herald | 11.03.2018
Most Libyan militias involved in illegal migration activities nominally affiliated to official state security institutions: UN Libya Experts Panel report
By Sami Zaptia
Most Libyan militias involved in illegal migration activities are nominally affiliated to official state security institutions, the UN Libya Experts Panel report states in its section on human trafficking and financing of armed groups.
‘‘Armed groups, which were party to larger political-military coalitions, have specialized in illegal smuggling activities, notably human smuggling and trafficking. The drastic rise in the numbers of migrants starting in 2014 indicates that illegal migration in Libya is not the preserve of isolated armed groups but of much larger coalitions. Most armed groups involved in these illegal activities were nominally affiliated to official security institutions. In 2014, the number of migrants that took the central Mediterranean route (great majority through Libya) was 170,664, compared to 45,298 and 15,151, respectively in 2013 and 2012.