26 Bangladeshis among 30 migrants killed in revenge attack in Libya

Collected
Emergency personnel pull a gurney with a victim on it from an air strike on a military school in the capital Tripoli – Courtesy to AFP

Twenty-six Bangladeshis are among 30 migrants killed by the family of a Libyan people trafficker in revenge for his death.

Libya’s internationally recognised Government of National Accord (GNA) said in a statement on Thursday that the revenge attack took place in the town of Mizda, reports Reuters.

Bangladesh officials said that they were trying to get in touch with the mission in Tripoli.

“We are trying to contact with the labor counselor [in Libya] to get the details. It seems they were kidnapped before the killing,” Dhaka Tribune reports citing Joint Secretary Nasreen Jahan of the expatriates’ welfare ministry as saying.

The GNA interior ministry said in a statement that 26 Bangladeshi and four African migrants had been killed and that 11 injured survivors were taken to a hospital in Zintan, according to the Reuters report.

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said it was following up the incident.

“We have just learned of this tragedy and are following up to get more details and provide assistance to survivors,” the Reuters quoted Safa Msehli, Libya spokeswoman for the International Organisation for Migration.

Libya has long been a destination for migrants because of its oil-funded economy, but is also an important way-station for people attempting to reach Europe across the Mediterranean.