Videos Seem to Depict Government-Aligned Libyan Militia Involved in Migrant Smuggling in the Mediterranean

Photographic material published by press in Italy seems to document for the first time a militia group affiliated with the Tripoli administration engaged in migrant trafficking across the sea routes.

Footage Gathered by Reporter and Aid Group

Video segments and images, leaked with the press, were documented by a journalist working for an news source who had joined humanitarian workers aboard a search and rescue boat operated by the NGO Mediterranea Saving Humans.

During one event, Kurdish refugees who told rescuers they had been removed from a detention center by the militia are seen in the water near the rescue boat after survivors alleged they had been pushed into the sea.

Evidence Handover

Visual evidence along with a detailed account of the occurrence have been sent by the NGO to legal authorities in Italian judicial offices and to the global court.

On this occasion there is video and photographic evidence that cannot be covered up: the Libyan traffickers who violently threw a group of refugees into the Mediterranean waters… are part of Libya’s government forces,” Mediterranea announced.

Unit Identification

The initial set of clips and images, from 18 August, depict men on Libyan patrol boats wearing face coverings and uniforms displaying the logo of the 80th Special Operations Battalion of the Libyan militia brigade – a unit headed by the Libyan deputy defence minister, Abdul Salam Al-Zoubi.

Nighttime Event

A second set of clips, filmed at night two days later, displays refugees from Iraqi Kurdistan in the water after witnesses stated they had been kicked into the sea. When the boat they were pushed from changes direction, it is illuminated by the spotlights from the NGO boat and revealed to have the same unusual pattern between its dark hull and lighter section as the vessel recorded on 18 August.

Allegations from Survivors

Kurdish people picked up by the Mediterranea informed the volunteers that only hours before they had been detained in a Libyan prison. Those rescued stated that a group of migrants who resisted the traffickers lost their lives, according to the NGO.

Context

The country has served as a key passage in recent years for individuals fleeing violence and destitution in several nations. Latest figures indicate about 867,055 people of dozens of nationalities were staying in Libya, as reported by data from the International Organization for Migration.

Documented Violations

As stated by multiple humanitarian groups – including findings from the UN – state-backed armed groups in Libya have been implicated in human rights violations against migrants for years, including operating or working alongside detention centres where people are exploited, mistreated and subjected to sexual violence, abducting individuals for ransom, cooperating with units of the coastal patrol, and illegal transport.

Funding Arrangements

Paramilitary units have been patrolling the Mediterranean since the national administration struck a deal with Italy in February 2017 that empowered it to intercept and return migrants found in the waters back to Libya.

The agreement, which entailed Italy supplying money and gear, was made by Marco Minniti, the former interior minister from the Democratic Party, in an effort to limit arrivals.

Ongoing Dialogue

In early September, Al-Zoubi met with Italy’s interior minister Matteo Piantedosi, who in an public comment praised Italy’s “effective collaboration” with the Libyan government.

Accusations

Luca Casarini, alleged that the visual proof, photographs and testimony of the rescued people “shows that the primary recipients of financial support from Italy are smugglers”.

Requests for comment made to the government department and Libyan officials have not yet received a statement.