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. “Saturday’s inspections uncovered housing units where undocumented foreign workers were living”, Libyan labour minister Ali al Abed, who was present during the raid, told reporters. “These workers, of various nationalities, had no residency permits, no official passports and not even health records”.
With Italy some 300 kilometres 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.
The labour minister said the site had “unregulated housing that fails to meet basic requirements for decent accommodation, health and workplace safety”. The detained migrant workers will be “transferred to centres run by the Anti-Illegal Immigration Authority and legal proceedings will be initiated against them according to national regulations”, Abed said. It remained unclear whether the migrants would be immediately deported. — AFP
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