Notorious human trafficker sanctioned by the UN killed in Western Libya

By THE MEDIA LINE STAFF

Published: SEPTEMBER 4, 2024 18:36

Victims react as authorities dismantle a human trafficking network, according to Libyan authorities, in what they say is Libya, in this still image from a handout video released on August 31, 2024. (photo credit: Attorney General Office - State Of Libya via Facebook/Handout via REUTERS ) — Victims react as authorities dismantle a human trafficking network, according to Libyan authorities, in what they say is Libya, in this still image from a handout video released on August 31, 2024.

(photo credit: Attorney General Office - State Of Libya via Facebook/Handout via REUTERS )

A notorious Libyan human trafficker sanctioned by the UNSC, was killed in Tripoli by unknown assailants, raising further questions amid Libya's ongoing turmoil and migrant crisis.

One of Libya's most notorious human traffickers was killed over the weekend in Tripoli, the capital of the internationally recognized Government of National Unity, Libyan law enforcement officials and militia leaders confirmed Monday.

Unknown assailants shot and killed Abdel-Rahman Milad, who led a coast guard unit based out of the western town of Zawiya and received sanction from the United Nations Security Council. The exact circumstances of his death remain unclear, and no group has claimed responsibility for the attack.

In June 2018, the Security Council imposed sanctions on Milad for his involvement in human trafficking and violence against migrants, which he has consistently denied.

However, UN monitoring groups say that Milad, along with other members of his Coast Guard unit, “are directly involved in the sinking of migrant boats using firearms.”

Reports suggest that Milad encountered an ambush in the Sayyad area of Tripoli while driving his white Toyota Land Cruiser on Sunday. Footage circulating online shows the vehicle had been shot full of bullets.

Crew members of the Geo Barents migrant rescue ship, operated by Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), distribute life jackets to a group of 61 migrants on a boat during a rescue operation in international waters off the coast of Libya in the central Mediterranean Sea September, 2023. (credit: REUTERS/DARRIN ZAMMIT LUPI)

Continuous chaos

Libya has faced ongoing turmoil since a popular uprising backed by a NATO-led bombing campaign during the Arab Spring protest movement overthrew longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.

Libya has since fractured into a failed state governed by rival administrations in the West and Benghazi in the East, each of which is supported by different armed groups and foreign governments.

Amid this chaos, Libya has become a major transit point for migrants fleeing conflict and poverty in search of a better life in Europe.