At least 70 migrants held at the Tajoura detention center in the Libyan capital, Tripoli, were killed in an airstrike early on Wednesday, 3 July 2019, and unconfirmed reports suggested that Ethiopians were among the dead, The Reporter said on 6 July.
Harun Maruf, a journalist with the Voice of America, wrote on Twitter, citing diplomatic sources, that an Ethiopian woman from the Somali region, named as Najaax Cabdi, was among those killed. The Reporter said it could not independently confirm that.
In a statement sent to The Reporter through its embassy in Addis Ababa, the foreign ministry of Libya’s Government of National Accord blamed the deaths on forces loyal to General Khalifa Hifter. “The Foreign Ministry of the National Accord Government strongly requests to document this crime which violates the international laws and norms and to be condemned by international human rights organizations and bring those responsible to justice,” it said, and asked the international community, including the African Union, to investigate.
Close to 6,000 migrants from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and other African countries were believed to be held in detention centers in Libya, according to reports cited by the newspaper. At least 2,800 of them were in danger because their centers sat on the front lines between Hifter’s forces and the armed groups fighting them.
The African Union condemned the strike. “Violence against civilians, including refugees and migrants, is utterly unacceptable,” it said. The AU said many more migrants at risk should be relocated or evacuated to safe places quickly. “We also repeat our call on all sides in the conflict to respect international humanitarian laws and call for an immediate investigation into this attack,” it said.
Sources: The Reporter