Hundreds of women and children detained in Libyan camps are at ‘immediate risk’

Women and children being held in Libyan detention centres are in immediate danger, the UN has said.

Five unaccompanied children and at least 30 infants are among the most vulnerable.

Unicef, the UN children’s fund, said 751 women and 255 children were among the thousands of migrants and asylum seekers detained in recent arrests.

“Migrant and refugee children in Libya continue to face grave child rights violations, including arbitrary detention,” said Cristina Brugiolo, Unicef’s acting special representative to Libya.

“We can assume the actual number of children held may be much higher as many boys are reportedly placed in cells with adult males.”

Libya is a starting point for human traffickers sending migrants and asylum seekers from Africa to Europe across the Mediterranean.

Greece and Italy, on the northern shores of the Mediterranean, are attractive EU destinations.

The Libyan authorities were urged to protect all detained children and prevent them from being separated from their parents, carers and families.

“Unicef stands ready with partners to provide technical support, including alternative care arrangements for the detained children,” Ms Brugiolo said.

Detention centres have been receiving numbers of people far in excess of their capacity, Unicef said. Libya’s largest centre, Al Mabani, is holding more than 5,000 people – four times its capacity.

Unicef called for the immediate release of all children in detention centres across the country.

Four days ago, the UN said guards shot and killed at least six people at one centre.

The number of Europe-bound migrants intercepted by the Libyan coastguard has trebled compared with last year.

By the end of August this year, about 23,600 people had been stopped or rescued by the coastguard, compared with 7,800 in the first eight months of last year.

The EU and Italy have provided support to the Libyan coastguard to reduce illegal migration to their shores.

Europe is trying to prevent a new migration crisis at its borders after earlier surges caused a political backlash.

The EU is supporting a transitional government in Libya after a decade of chaos.

More than 200,000 Libyans are estimated to be displaced in their own country.

AFP African migrants at a shelter in Tripoli last week after the authorities detained hundreds of people in raids. The UN said at least one person died and more than 5,000 were arrested