Haftar’s forces announced “the liberation of a thousand illegal immigrants, including women and children, from a gang that held them for the purpose of human trafficking.”
The director of the media office of Haftar’s forces, Colonel Khalifa Al-Obeidi, said in a statement to the “Novosti” agency: “The forces of the reinforced Tariq bin Ziyad Brigade were able to free more than a thousand illegal immigrants, most of them of African nationalities, who were detained in a large human trafficking den near the Al-Shuwayrif area.”
Al-Obaidi added that “the operation included the liberation of women and children who were among the detainees,” stressing that “the forces arrested the gang responsible for these illegal activities, and that the migrants were transferred to a safe place, where all their needs were provided and they were housed in a suitable place.”
The Libyan military official pointed out that “the operations forces of the Tariq bin Ziyad Brigade carried out a raid on the den, and large quantities of drugs were found with the gang involved in human trafficking and detaining migrants.”
Al-Abidi explained that “this operation comes within the framework of ongoing efforts to combat organized crime and secure borders, in addition to protecting citizens and immigrants from criminal gangs.”
Earlier this month, Haftar’s forces had strengthened their presence in the southwest of the country, and Haftar’s forces spokesman, Major General Ahmed Al-Mismari, confirmed that “the General Command has sent additional forces to support and reinforce the border guard forces and the military regions forces in southwestern Libya.”
Al-Masmari pointed out at the time that “this military support aims firstly to gain complete control over the borders, and secondly to confront the state of instability witnessed by some neighboring countries such as Mali and Niger on the one hand and Chad on the other hand, in addition to other challenges such as the illegal immigration movement that has increased in these border areas in recent days.”
Last updated: August 24, 2024 – 13:17
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2024-08-25 22:32:50