Official statistics are not available but many Libyans I know have either first-hand experience of being kidnapped or have had a family member or friend abducted. Most families do not speak out, fearing that if they go public their loved ones will be killed or tortured in captivity.

The United Nations launched a ($75.5-million) appeal to tackle a swelling humanitarian and migration crisis in Libya, on Tuesday as the country continues to be used as a staging post for crossings to Europe.

This week, fighting erupted between rival militias in Tripoli, shattering a period of calm that lasted since March. The UN-backed government lost more than 50 fighters.

A day after reaching safety aboard a humanitarian ship, migrants, some of whom were enslaved, told of arbitrary detention, slavery and beatings in Libya as Europe seeks to build up the Tripoli-based coastguard.

Libya on Thursday asked Italy to arm the patrol boats it uses in the fight against illegal immigration across the Mediterranean from North Africa to Europe, the Local It reported.

Amnesty International has appealed to the authorities in Tripoli  to urgently investigate the kidnapping of Tripoli University professor, Dr Salem Mohamed Beitelmal, who has been missing since 20 April.

The interior ministers of Germany and Italy have written to Brussels urging the creation of an “EU Mission” at the border between Libya and Niger “as soon as possible,” after over 40,000 people traveled through the North African country into Europe this year.

Hundreds of migrants along North African migration routes are being bought and sold openly in modern day ‘slave markets’ in Libya, survivors have told the United Nations migration agency, which warned that these reports “can be added to a long list of outrages” in the country. The International Criminal Court …

A Libyan migrant smuggler has been arrested in Sicily for his alleged role in the slaying of a migrant who failed to remove his cap when ordered.

The illegal gun trade in Libya has been booming in recent years, and online sales have helped drive that growth, Guns.com cited a study released earlier this month.