Border guards in Vicenza for training on immigration and human trafficking

The General Staff of the Border Guard of the Western Region of Libya has announced the dispatch of a group of officers to Italy to participate in a training course on the fight against illegal immigration and human trafficking. The course will be held at the Carabinieri Training Center of Excellence in Vicenza.

The Libyan Border Guard has suffered for years from significant marginalization and lack of interest from the Libyan authorities, mainly due to the wars that have affected the country. This has made the agency one of the weakest in the country, lacking the necessary capacity to deal with the waves of illegal immigration from Sub-Saharan Africa. Despite the existence of other parallel agencies, large sums of money have been spent without them assuming effective border control functions.

Meanwhile, the Libyan Public Prosecutor’s Office announced yesterday the arrest of 37 individuals belonging to an international criminal network specializing in migrant smuggling and trafficking in women. “The Public Prosecutor’s Office has dismantled a network of criminal gangs that entered Libya from Nigeria, practicing witchcraft rituals, organizing illegal migration operations, kidnappings, drug trafficking and robberies,” read a statement posted on Facebook. According to the Public Prosecutor’s Office, the operation was launched after intelligence services reported a meeting between illegal migrants, aimed at coordinating criminal activities managed by five organizations: “High Viking,” “Emsi,” “Eye,” “Black Axe” and the “New Blacks in Africa” movement. The criminal network, the Public Prosecutor’s Office explained, forced migrant women to do domestic work and ran brothels in the country, trafficking women internationally. The charges also include organizing illegal migration to the northern Mediterranean countries, kidnappings, trafficking in drugs and psychotropic substances, and thefts. All those arrested are currently in custody pending investigation.

The number of migrants in Libya reached 761,322 people spread across 100 municipalities in the country between June and July 2024, according to the latest report from the International Organization for Migration (IOM). Compared to the period March-May 2024, this represents a 5 percent increase, partly due to the influx of Sudanese to Kufra, due to the conflict in Sudan. The majority of migrants come from Niger (24 percent), Sudan (24 percent), Egypt (21 percent) and Chad (10 percent), highlighting the influence of geographical proximity and cross-border ties. 54 percent of migrants are concentrated in western Libya, 33 percent in the east and 13 percent in the south. The main destinations are Tripoli (15 percent), Misrata (11 percent), Benghazi (10 percent) and Zawiya (6 percent). In the southern regions, many work as seasonal agricultural workers, particularly in the date harvest.

The IOM report highlights the difficulties migrants face in accessing essential services, such as clean water, health care and education. In particular, 95 percent of migrants in Kufra reported little or no access to health care. Security is also a concern, particularly in border areas such as Kufra, where 32 percent of migrants reported problems. Working conditions are often precarious, with migrants working in informal and high-risk sectors such as agriculture and construction. Eighty-three percent of migrants moved for economic reasons, while 83 percent have no clear plans for the future. IOM warns that without immediate action, the challenges of increased migration could lead to social tensions and instability, exacerbated by difficult climatic conditions and limited resources.