<figure id="attachment_3119133" aria-describedby="caption-attachment-3119133" style="width: 1600px" class="wp-caption alignnone"><img loading="lazy" class="size-full wp-image-3119133" src="https://media.freemalaysiatoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/f200dbcd-libyan-anti-immigration-migrants.webp" alt="" width="1600" height="1000" /><figcaption id="caption-attachment-3119133" class="wp-caption-text">Migrants intercepted by Libyan authorities are detained in harsh conditions that are frequently condemned by the UN. (EPA Images pic)</figcaption></figure>
TRIPOLI: Libyan authorities detained on Saturday some 1,500 undocumented migrant workers in a raid on a neighbourhood housing them east of the capital Tripoli, an AFP reporter saw.
&#8220;Saturday&#8217;s inspections uncovered housing units where undocumented foreign workers were living,&#8221; Libyan labour minister Ali al-Abed, who was present during the raid, told reporters.
&#8220;These workers, of various nationalities, had no residency permits, no official passports, and not even health records.&#8221;
Libya has been gripped by conflict since the 2011 overthrow and killing of longtime ruler Moamer Kadhafi in a Nato-backed uprising.
The country remains split between prime minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah&#8217;s government based in Tripoli and a rival administration based in the east.
With Italy some 300km away, Libya has become a key launchpad for tens of thousands of migrants who risk their lives at sea trying to reach Europe.
The area targeted in the sweep east of Tripoli housed makeshift encampments surrounded by high walls and a large gate.
Hundreds of migrants – mostly Egyptians and sub-Saharan Africans – were said to have lived there.
Inside the compound, an AFP journalist saw a small grocery store, a butcher shop and vegetable vendors.
The labour minister said the site had &#8220;unregulated housing that fails to meet basic requirements for decent accommodation, health and workplace safety&#8221;.
The detained migrant workers will be &#8220;transferred to centres run by the Anti-Illegal Immigration Authority, and legal proceedings will be initiated against them according to national regulations&#8221;, Abed said.
It remained unclear whether the migrants would be immediately deported.
Earlier this month, a EU commissioner and ministers from Greece, Italy and Malta were in Libya to discuss irregular migration from the North African country.
Migrants intercepted by Libyan authorities, including in international waters before reaching the Italian coast, are forcibly returned to Libya and held in detention under harsh conditions frequently condemned by the UN.

MatchPoint Times

Libya detains 1,500 undocumented migrant workers in raid near Tripoli

With Italy some 300km away, the country has become a launchpad for tens of thousands of migrants trying to reach Europe.

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