„Migration durch Libyen: Im Land der Menschenhändler“

24. Januar 2018 · Kommentare deaktiviert für „Migration durch Libyen: Im Land der Menschenhändler“ · Kategorien: Libyen · Tags: , ,

taz | 23.01.2018

Videos zeigen Folterungen von Migranten und sorgen für Entsetzen. Dabei geht es um erpresserische Geschäfte mit deren Familien.

TUNIS taz | In sozialen Netzwerken geteilte Videos über die grausame Misshandlung von Migranten sorgen in Libyen für Entsetzen. Von Milizionären und Menschenhändlern selbst aufgenommen Videosequenzen zeigen auf dem Boden liegende Migranten aus dem Sudan, die mit brühend heißem Silikon übergossen wurden.

Auf einem der Handy­videos richtet ein Mann seine Kalaschnikow auf einen sich vor Schmerzen windenden nackten Mann, ein neben dem filmenden Milizionär stehender weiterer Täter lässt teils brennende Flüssigkeit auf das Opfer tropfen, dessen Haut sichtbar verätzt wird.

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„PC forces try to grab Ras Jedir border post from Amazigh“

06. Januar 2018 · Kommentare deaktiviert für „PC forces try to grab Ras Jedir border post from Amazigh“ · Kategorien: Libyen · Tags: ,

Libya Herald | 05.01.2017

By Jamie Prentis

Forces loyal to the Presidency Council (PC) are challenging the long-standing Amazigh control of the key Ras Jedir border crossing to Tunisia.

At dawn today forces led by Usama Juwaili, the western region military commander appointed by the Presidency Council, advanced towards border areas controlled by militias from the predominately Amazigh town of Zuwara.

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„Ouster of a brutal militia from Libya’s smuggling hub chokes off migrant flow“

29. Dezember 2017 · Kommentare deaktiviert für „Ouster of a brutal militia from Libya’s smuggling hub chokes off migrant flow“ · Kategorien: Libyen · Tags: ,

The Washington Post | 28.12.2017

By Sudarsan Raghavan

SABRATHA, Libya — For nearly two years, this ancient, beachfront city, famed for its Roman ruins, was one of North Africa’s largest smuggling hubs, a gateway for tens of thousands of migrants seeking better futures in Europe. Now, there are none on the beaches where hundreds of rickety boats once ferried them to Italy illegally, none in the migrant detention center where they ended up when an attempt failed.

At the five-star West Tallil Holiday resort, the white, two-story villas once housed as many as 3,000 migrants at a time waiting to set sail. Their traffickers, who had seized the hotel, had erected sand dunes along the beach to hide them from Libyan coast guard patrols and curious swimmers.

The resort is now empty, as are the smugglers’ other safe houses.

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“EU-Africa migration funds were used on Libya’s coast guard patrol vessels“

22. November 2017 · Kommentare deaktiviert für “EU-Africa migration funds were used on Libya’s coast guard patrol vessels“ · Kategorien: Europa, Italien, Libyen · Tags: , ,

The Medi Telegraph | 16.11.2017

Genoa – EU international cooperation funding destined for development projects in Africa was used to refurbish patrol boats for Libya’s coast guard, and handed over to Libyan militia units who practice torture and extrajudicial killings, in violation of Libyan and international standards.

Genoa – EU international cooperation funding destined for development projects in Africa was used to refurbish patrol boats for Libya’s coast guard, and handed over to Libyan militia units who practice torture and extrajudicial killings, in violation of Libyan and international standards. While a chilling CNN video that showed migrants being auctioned off as slaves has opened a moral debate (only yesterday, the UN High Commissioner described the agreement signed by Italy and the EU with Libya as “inhuman”), now the Italian government will have to respond also to allegations that it acted illegitimately by providing funding to authorities in Tripoli. The ASGI, an Italian association of immigration lawyers, has lodged a complaint with Lazio’s Regional Court, in which it contests a 2.5 million euro payment by Italy’s Interior Ministry for the refurbishment of four patrol boats operated by Libya’s coast guard for coastal border control.

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Così le milizie di Sabratha combattono per i soldi italiani

27. Oktober 2017 · Kommentare deaktiviert für Così le milizie di Sabratha combattono per i soldi italiani · Kategorien: Italien, Libyen · Tags: ,

La Stampa | 27.10.2017

I libici: «Da Roma cinque milioni di euro per fermare i barconi». Rivolta delle fazioni contro il clan Dabbashi: «L’accordo è un disastro»

FRANCESCO SEMPRINI

A Sabratha, la città costiera, già feudo dell’Isis e hub delle carrette del mare, si sta consumando una guerra che vede la potente famiglia Dabbashi messa all’angolo da fazioni rivali e militari di Tripoli, sullo sfondo di una lotta intestina per il controllo dei traffici, e di quel presunto accordo tra il clan e l’Italia. Fonti locali parlano di cinque milioni di euro in cambio dello stop dei barconi. Un tesoretto su cui tutti vorrebbero mettere le mani. Ma quei soldi sono mai arrivati in Libia? Se sì, che fine hanno fatto? La Farnesina smentisce categoricamente ogni contatto, ma Hussein Alk-Alagi, portavoce della milizia Al-Wadi, che ha innescato la rivolta anti-Dabbashi, conferma: «L’accordo con l’Italia è stato un disastro». E mentre sulla polveriera di Sabratha spunta anche l’ombra del generale Haftar, ci si chiede chi fermerà l’ondata di migranti in arrivo dal serbatoio del Sahel.

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„UK-supported Libyan forces ‚taking bribes to free detained migrants‘ after pushing boats back to shore“

25. Oktober 2017 · Kommentare deaktiviert für „UK-supported Libyan forces ‚taking bribes to free detained migrants‘ after pushing boats back to shore“ · Kategorien: Libyen · Tags: , ,

The Independent | 25.10.2017

Exclusive: Migrants crossing Mediterranean Sea on second attempt after being pushed back and then released for payment

Lizzie Dearden

The UK-backed Libyan coastguard is running a racket in the Mediterranean Sea by turning its legitimate power to stop migrant crossings into a cash cow, according to victims’ accounts.

Guards allegedly stop smuggler vessels offshore and detain those onboard, before taking bribes to later release them. Migrants say they are then able to attempt another crossing to Europe.

Human Rights Watch (HRW) has collected numerous testimonies from migrants intercepted at sea who subsequently bribed their way out of Libyan detention centres. HRW says the accounts are tantamount to evidence EU funding could be exacerbating the refugee crisis it aims to fix.

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„Reflections on European Attitudes Towards the Flow of Migrants From Libya: Time to Shift Gears“

16. Oktober 2017 · Kommentare deaktiviert für „Reflections on European Attitudes Towards the Flow of Migrants From Libya: Time to Shift Gears“ · Kategorien: Europa, Libyen · Tags: , ,

The Libya Observer | 16.10.2017

By Fatimah Elfeitori, co-founder of RAR Refugees Malaysia (NGO)

With terrorism and immigration being portrayed as two sides of the same coin, the refugee crisis has been dealt with as a threat to national security rather than a humanitarian issue. This is reflected in the latest immigration policies and measures adopted by the European nations targeting the central Mediterranean route. The hypothesis presented has been that terrorism is imported by immigrants and thus the war on terrorism necessitates curbing immigration. An alarming contradiction however comes to light when the deals with the Libyan coastguard are examined closely.

The sea crossing from Libya has been one of the two main routes in the flow of immigrants to Europe, the other being by sea from Turkey to Greece. The recent EU-Ankara deal to send refugees caught at sea back to Turkey seems at the face of it to have been largely successful in managing the flow of refugees from the eastern Mediterranean route. However this cap has been described as “putting a finger on a stream”, as it in fact led to the increase of influx through the Libyan and Moroccan routes making the need for solutions there even more dire. A recent study by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) explains that “While overall numbers of migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean by the eastern route were reduced significantly in 2016 by the EU-Turkey deal, death rates have increased to 2.1 per 100 in 2017, relative to 1.2 in 2016”. The crisis has prompted EU leaders to study several plans ranging from development programs and enhanced visa processes in origin countries to deals with the Libyan coast guard to prevent boats from crossing to Europe.

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„La strategia italiana per fermare i migranti in Libia è in crisi?“

13. Oktober 2017 · Kommentare deaktiviert für „La strategia italiana per fermare i migranti in Libia è in crisi?“ · Kategorien: Italien, Libyen · Tags: ,

Die Kämpfe in der libyschen Küstenstadt Sabrata sind abgeflaut. Sie wurden ausgelöst durch den Deal, den die italienische Regierung mit dem Dabashi-Clan geschlossen hat, um Migrant*innen an der Fahrt über das Mittelmeer zu hindern. Die Dabashi-Milizen sind inzwischen aus Sabrata abgezogen, die ‚Operation Room fighting IS‘ scheint die Kontrolle über die Stadt zu haben. Die italienische Strategie zur Abwehr der Flüchtlinge steckt in der Krise. Dennoch sind diese die Leidtragenden. Sie sind eingesperrt in Lagern ohne Zugang zu Lebensmitteln und Wasser. Hunderte sind inzwischen zu Fuß geflohen und haben Zuwara erreicht.

Internazionale | 12.10.2017

Annalisa Camilli, giornalista di Internazionale

“Ci sono rifugiati eritrei imprigionati nei centri di detenzione di Sabrata, senza accesso ad acqua, cibo e cure mediche da almeno cinque giorni”, denuncia l’attivista eritrea Meron Estefanos, che è in contatto telefonico con un’ottantina di persone, rimaste bloccate per settimane nei combattimenti tra gruppi armati rivali a Sabrata, nel nordovest della Libia. “Ci sono sei donne che hanno partorito senza assistenza medica e almeno cinquanta bambini rinchiusi in questi centri di raccolta. Non c’è niente da mangiare”, racconta a Internazionale. Estefanos vive da anni in Svezia, ma è un punto di riferimento per gli eritrei che fuggono da Asmara, attraverso il Sudan e la Libia.

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„Europas Hilfspolizisten“

13. Oktober 2017 · Kommentare deaktiviert für „Europas Hilfspolizisten“ · Kategorien: Italien, Libyen · Tags: ,

German Foreign Policy | 13.10.2017

Die EU-Flüchtlingsabwehr in Libyen verzeichnet einen krachenden Rückschlag und ruft beim Menschenrechtskommissar des Europarats scharfe Kritik hervor. Der Versuch Italiens, einen Warlord in der Küstenstadt Sabratha im Westen von Tripolis zu bestechen, um seine Milizen als eine Art Hilfspolizei gegen Migranten einzusetzen, hat zu dreiwöchigen erbitterten Kämpfen mit zahlreichen Todesopfern geführt. Der Clan des Warlords, der im Sommer nach übereinstimmenden Berichten mit finanziellen Zuwendungen aus Rom bedacht wurde, ist in der Vergangenheit durch seine Nähe zum IS aufgefallen; ein Clanmitglied fungierte als örtlicher IS-Anführer. Zudem stößt die italienische Marinemission zur Unterstützung der sogenannten libyschen Küstenwache zunehmend auf Protest. Wer zur Auslieferung von Migranten an libysche Stellen beitrage, verstoße gegen die „Pflicht, deren Menschenrechte zu schützen“, erklärt der Menschenrechtskommissar des Europarats, Nils Muižniek. Die Vorwürfe treffen auch Berlin, das bei der Abwehr von Flüchtlingen eng mit Rom kooperiert und nicht zuletzt an der Schulung der libyschen Küstenwache selbst beteiligt ist.

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„Armed faction takes over protection of Libyan oil and gas complex, fresh concern over migrants“

08. Oktober 2017 · Kommentare deaktiviert für „Armed faction takes over protection of Libyan oil and gas complex, fresh concern over migrants“ · Kategorien: Libyen · Tags: , ,

Reuters | 07.10.2017

Ahmed Elumami

SABRATHA, Libya (Reuters) – An armed alliance involved in a three-week battle over the Libyan smuggling hub of Sabratha said on Saturday it had taken over protection of the Mellitah oil and gas terminal after expelling a rival group.

An organization called the Operations Room and its allies have been fighting the Anas al-Dabbashi brigade, a major facilitator of migrant smuggling that recently said it had changed tack and struck a deal with the U.N.-backed government in Tripoli to stop boats setting off across the Mediterranean.

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