More than 200 migrants are released from a “secret prison” by Libya’s security forces, according to two security sources

Libya’s security authorities have liberated over 200 migrants from what has been characterized as a clandestine prison in the town of Kufra, located in the southeast of the country. They had been detained under inhumane conditions, according to two security sources from the city who spoke to Reuters on Sunday.

According to security sources who requested anonymity, authorities have discovered an underground prison approximately three meters deep, reportedly operated by a Libyan human trafficker.

According to one source, this individual has not yet been detained. “Some of the freed migrants were held captive for up to two years in underground cells,” the source stated.

According to another source, the operation revealed “one of the most serious crimes against humanity that has been uncovered in the region.”

“The operation led to a raid on a clandestine prison located in the city, revealing multiple inhumane underground detention cells,” one of the sources noted.

The liberated migrants originate from sub-Saharan Africa, primarily from Somalia and Eritrea, encompassing women and children, according to the sources. Kufra is located in eastern Libya, approximately 1,700 kilometres (1,000 miles) from the capital, Tripoli.

Since the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-supported uprising in 2011, Libya has emerged as a transit route for migrants escaping conflict and poverty, undertaking perilous journeys across the desert and the Mediterranean to reach Europe.

The oil-driven Libyan economy attracts impoverished migrants in search of employment; however, the country’s extensive security issues render these migrants susceptible to various forms of exploitation.

Last week, a mass grave containing at least 21 bodies of migrants was discovered in eastern Libya. Additionally, two security sources informed Reuters that up to 10 survivors from the group showed signs of having endured torture prior to their release from captivity.

On Friday, Libya’s attorney general announced that authorities in the eastern region of the country had sent a defendant to court for trial related to the mass grave, facing charges of “committing serious violations against migrants.”

In February of the previous year, 39 bodies of migrants were found in approximately 55 mass graves located in Kufra. The town accommodates tens of thousands of Sudanese refugees who escaped the conflict that broke out in Sudan in 2023.