Aid group Doctors Without Borders urged the evacuation of thousands of migrants trapped in detention centres in Libya’s capital Tripoli, which is under a fragile ceasefire after deadly clashes.

Some 400 detainees escaped after a riot on Sunday at a prison in the southern suburbs of the Libyan capital Tripoli, theatre of a week of deadly battles, police said.

Hundreds of migrants in Libya’s capital Tripoli have been relocated from government-run detention centres after getting trapped by clashes between rival groups, United Nations and aid sources told Reuters news agency on Thursday.

African refugees who were refused entry by Italy had been held by smugglers for up to two years in Libya and many had been beaten, tortured and raped, according to the UN migration agency.

The UN refugee agency said on Friday it was gravely concerned about a deterioration in conditions for migrants held in Libyan detention centres that had led to riots and hunger strikes.

A few times a week, boats dangerously over-packed with hundreds of scared but hopeful young people leave Libya for Europe. Some of these smuggler-run, barely sea-worthy vessels make it to their destination, predominantly Italy or Spain, where their passengers face uncertainty.

As the EU sets new policies and makes deals with African nations to deter hundreds of thousands of migrants from seeking new lives on the continent, what does it mean for those following dreams northwards and the countries they transit through? From returnees in Sierra Leone and refugees resettled in …

Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) calls for an end to the arbitrary detention of refugees, asylum-seekers and migrants in Libya after a dramatic increase in the number of people intercepted by the EU-supported Libyan coastguard in the Mediterranean and disembarked in Libya.

The European Union’s migrant strategy has suffered a major setback with Italy refusing to freely accept people rescued at sea and Libya spurning a proposal for asylum processing centres.

The number of migrants in Libya’s overcrowded detention centres has almost doubled over the past three months, according to the UN’s migration agency.