A Libyan human trafficker sanctioned by the UN has been killed in Tripoli, officials say

CAIRO (AP) — One of Libya’s most wanted people smugglers was killed Sunday in the capital Tripoli, Libyan officials said.

CAIRO (AP) — One of Libya’s most wanted people smugglers was killed Sunday in the capital, Tripoli, Libyan officials said, raising tensions in the western part of the North African country.

Abdel-Rahman Milad, who led a coast guard unit in the western city of Zawiya and was sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council, was shot dead by unknown assailants, the officials said.

The circumstances of his death are not immediately known and no group has claimed responsibility for his death.

Libyan media reported that he was shot while sitting in his vehicle in the Sayyad area, in the western part of Tripoli. Footage circulated online showed a white Toyota Land Cruiser in front of Milad with bullet holes on the side.

Both officials spoke on condition of anonymity for their security. There was no comment from the Tripoli-based government of Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah.

Moammar Dhawi, a militia leader in western Libya, mourned Milad’s death. In a statement on Facebook, he called for an investigation to hold the perpetrators to account.

Libya has been plagued by corruption and unrest since a NATO-backed uprising in 2011 toppled and killed long-serving dictator Moammar Gaddafi. The country has since been divided into two administrations, both backed by armed groups and foreign governments.

Amid the chaos, the oil-rich country has become a major conduit for people from Africa and the Middle East fleeing war and poverty hoping to reach Europe via the Mediterranean Sea.

In June 2018, the Security Council imposed sanctions on Milad and five other leaders of criminal networks allegedly involved in the smuggling of migrants and others from Libya. Milad was described at the time as the head of a coast guard unit in Zawiya “consistently linked to violence against migrants and other people smugglers” from rival gangs.

UN experts monitoring the sanctions allege that Milad and other coast guard members “are directly involved in sinking migrant boats using firearms.”

Milad denied any links to human trafficking and said traffickers wear uniforms similar to those of his men. He was jailed for about six months between October 2020 and April 2021 on charges of human trafficking and fuel smuggling.