Eastern Libyan authorities have deported 700 Sudanese migrants back to their conflict-ridden homeland, intensifying a sweeping crackdown on undocumented migration and human trafficking. The mass deportation, which took place by land on Friday, was confirmed by the Directorate for Combating Illegal Migration in eastern Libya, which is under the control of military commander Khalifa Haftar. The migrants were arrested in recent weeks across central and southeastern Libya. According to officials, some of them were found to be suffering from communicable diseases such as hepatitis and HIV/AIDS. Others were reportedly deported due to criminal convictions or unspecified security concerns.
This latest action is part of a broader campaign to dismantle migrant trafficking networks operating across Libya’s porous borders. The crackdown has included raids on known smuggling hubs and detention centers. Earlier in July, a raid in Ajdabiya—around 800 km east of Tripoli—freed 104 Sudanese migrants, including women and children, who had been held in inhumane conditions in a trafficking warehouse. In a separate incident last week, Libya’s eastern coast guard intercepted a vessel carrying 80 migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean near the port city of Tobruk.
Libya has become a major gateway for African and Middle Eastern migrants fleeing poverty and violence, seeking passage to Europe. Exploiting the country’s decade-long instability following the 2011 fall of Muammar Gaddafi, human traffickers have established routes across Libya’s borders with six neighboring countries—including Sudan, Chad, and Niger. Since civil war erupted in Sudan in April 2023, tens of thousands of Sudanese have fled into Libya. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) estimates over 240,000 Sudanese currently reside in Libya, many of them stranded or vulnerable to exploitation.
Human rights organizations have repeatedly raised concerns about the treatment of migrants in Libya, citing widespread abuses including arbitrary detention, extortion, and forced labor.
