Libyan traffickers selling, torturing migrants for cash
Libyan security officials say human traffickers are buying and selling migrants, torturing them to force their families to pay ransom.
Authorities in Al-Jufra, central Libya, say their investigation has uncovered widespread trafficking, with gangs demanding up to $10,000 per person. If families cannot pay, some migrants are killed.
Officials say migrants are being beaten, starved, and even burned with melted plastic, while others are also victims of sexual violence.
In some cases, when traffickers fail to get ransom money, they shoot the migrants and bury them in the desert. Survivors and arrested traffickers have confirmed these brutal acts.
Security forces have begun destroying buildings used to hold migrants before they are sold to other traffickers. Authorities say this is part of efforts to stop the trade in human lives.
Meanwhile, in southeastern Libya, officials have started digging up the bodies of 58 migrants buried in the desert near Al-Kufra. DNA tests will be carried out to confirm their identities and determine how they died.
