Ayoub Qassem a coast guard spokesman said on Thursday that Libya’s coast guard has intercepted about fifteen thousand migrants trying to reach Italy by sea this year, while the United Nations — which gave a much higher estimate — said many were kept in inhumane conditions and subjected to abuse.
The UN Libya mission (UNSMIL) said in a 61-page report on Thursday that the coast guard had intercepted or rescued twenty-nine thousand migrants in the first nine months of the year but the coast guard spokesman, put the figure at around 15,000 until December, giving a number for the first time.
It was not clear which side’s estimate was more accurate or why there was such a large discrepancy between them.
The UN report said as of September 18, a total of six thousand, eight hundred migrants were held in detention centres in western Libya.
The UN-backed government promised to bring the perpetrators to justice, but no arrests have been made public.