Migrants held by militias describe horrid conditions

CAIRO — In the desert of western Libya, hundreds of African migrants were held for months in a hangar filled with maggotcovered garbage and sewage. They shared a couple of buckets of water between them and barely survived on one meal a day. More than 20 died from disease and hunger, they said.

The migrants and their advocates accused U.N. aid agencies of turning a blind eye or responding too slowly to their plight.

The U.N refugee agency, or UNHCR, denies it’s been unresponsive, saying it has been unable to access parts of the facility, run by one of Libya’s many militias. The commander in charge of the facility denied there was any lack of access.

Internal memos and emails leaked to the Associated Press also show disagreement among the UNHCR and other aid agencies over conditions at the site in the town of Zintan, with one NGO working on behalf of UNHCR denying there was lack of food, even as it acknowledged it hadn’t been able to see the majority of migrants held there.

The suffering of the migrants held in Zintan underscores the impact of the European Union’s effective yet muchcriticized policy of blocking Africans from sailing across the Mediterranean to its shores and keeping them in Libya.

Funded and trained by the EU, Libyan border guards have been stepping up efforts to stop migrants from crossing. As a result, thousands of migrants are trapped in a country thrown into chaos by war. At least 6,000 are locked up in dozens of detention facilities run by militias accused of human rights abuses and torture. Others are held in traffickers’ lockups, where they face torture and rape by traffickers seeking ransom money from their families, according to reports from the U.N. and rights groups.

EU officials say they have dedicated millions of dollars to providing humanitarian aid to migrants and helping them return home, through the UNHCR and other agencies. The EU said in a statement that it is not ignoring what it described as the “dire” situation of refugees and migrants stranded in Libya. It said it has repeatedly denounced inhumane conditions in detention centers and demanded their closure.

Responding to questions from the AP, the EU said a joint task force with the African Union and the United Nations is seeking safer alternatives outside Libya, including by stepping up evacuations and legal resettlement.

Around 700 Africans, most from Eritrea, are held at the Zintan facility. Until earlier this month, almost all were held in a hangar from which photos and video were posted online and drew media attention. Since then, the migrants say they were moved to two smaller halls, with similarly tough conditions.