UN imposes sanctions on six of Libya’s most notorious people smugglers

THE UN has sanctioned leaders of human trafficking networks in Libya, including those associated with the country’s Eu-funded coastguard.

The sanctions include a global travel ban and an assets freeze of six of the most prolific smugglers who took advantage of insecurity in Libya to move hundreds of thousands of migrants by sea to Europe.

Also among those hit are Libyan militia members with links to anti-trafficking deals struck with the Italian government.

It is first time that smugglers have been targeted by the UN’S Security

Council.

Among those named by the UN were Abd al Rahman al-milad, the regional Libyan coastguard leader whose unit was given assistance from the EU, and Mus’ab Abu-qarin, who reportedly struck deals with the Italian government. He was said to have organised journeys over sea for 45,000 people in 2015 alone.

They appeared on the sanctions list alongside Ahmad Oumar Al-dabbashi, commander of the Anas al-dabbashi militia. The UN said there was extensive evidence that Dabbashi’s militia had been involved in the illicit trafficking and smuggling of migrants and had long-standing links with Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (Isil).

Nikki Haley, the US ambassador, said the sanctions – agreed after “close collaboration” between the US, Britain, the Netherlands, France, and Germany – were “part of a larger international effort to seek accountability for those involved in migrant smuggling”.