Libyan authorities shot dead three Sudanese migrants: UN

Libyan authorities have shot dead three Sudanese migrants who tried to escape after they were intercepted by the coastguard in the Mediterranean Sea and returned to the North African country, the United Nations said.

The three were among more than 70 Europe-bound migrants, mostly from Sudan, who were returned late on Monday to the western coastal town of Khoms, said Safa Msehli, spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), on Tuesday.

Khoms is about 120km (75 miles) east of Tripoli.

The IOM said local authorities started shooting when the migrants attempted to escape from the disembarkation point.

Two migrants died on site and a third died of his wounds while being transported to a hospital, Msehli told Al Jazeera.

Two other migrants were wounded and were taken to local hospitals while survivors were moved to detention centres, the IOM added.

“This is not the first time people are subjected to this senseless violence and confirms yet again that no one should be returned to Libya,” Msehli said.

There was no immediate comment from the UN-recognised government in the capital, Tripoli.

Violence, human rights abuses, disappearances and deaths – that is how the situation on the Mediterranean is being described as with migrants and refugees, who flee Libya hoping to reach Europe, losing their lives at sea and also in Libya.

Since 2014, more than 20,000 migrants and refugees have died at sea while trying to reach Europe from Africa.

Source: aljazeera.com

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