Libyan authorities order arrest of militia leader over murder of UN-sanctioned trafficker

CAIRO (AP) — Libya’s chief prosecutor has ordered the arrest of a militia leader and one of his associates pending an investigation into the murder of one of the country’s most notorious human traffickers.

Mohamed Bahroun, commander of the First Support Battalion and an influential militia leader, and one of his associates surrendered after allegations emerged about their role in last week’s killing. Abdel-Rahman Milad in the capital Tripoli.

The office of Attorney General al-Sediq al-Sour said in a statement Saturday evening that prosecutors had ordered both men to remain in custody after questioning them and receiving evidence of their involvement in Milad’s killing.

Milad, who had been sanctioned by the United Nations Security Council and held in Libya on suspicion of human trafficking, was shot dead on September 1 as he sat in his vehicle in the Sayyad neighborhood of western Tripoli.

The deceased trafficker and Bahroun were from the western city of Zawiya, where Milad commanded a notorious coast guard unit. Both rose to prominence during the chaos after a NATO-backed uprising — which descended into civil war — toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.

The oil-rich nation has since been divided between two administrations, each backed by armed groups and foreign governments. Both Milad and Bahroun have held government positions in the lawless western part of the Mediterranean country.

Since then, Libya has become an important channel 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 for their alleged involvement in the smuggling of migrants and others from Libya. At the time, Milad was described in a UN report 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 alleged that Milad and other coast guard members “are directly involved in sinking migrant boats” by opening fire to intercept the vessels.

The intercepted migrants are being held in government-run detention centres where practices amount to crimes against humanity, UN-appointed investigators say. The abuses often involve attempts to extort money from the families of the captured migrants before they are released or allowed to leave Libya on people-smuggler boats bound for Europe.

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.