Three Libyans allegedly burned a Nigerian migrant alive in Tajoura, a town near Tripoli, the North African country’s capital.
U.N. and government officials said on Wednesday that three other migrant workers suffered severe burns and were treated in a nearby hospital.
The three Libyans were said to have stormed a factory – where the deceased worked – in Tajoura, detained the Nigerian, poured gasoline on him and thereafter set him on fire.
The interior ministry of the U.N.-supported government in a statement did not give a motive for the shocking crime was given.
The alleged perpetrators, all in their 30s, were arrested and referred to prosecutors for investigation, it said.
“The young man was burned alive, in yet again another senseless crime against migrants in the country,” tweeted Federico Soda, the chief in Libya for the International Organization for Migration.
The migrant’s death underscores the perils that migrants face in Libya, which has emerged as a major transit point for African and Arab migrants fleeing war and poverty to Europe amid years-long chaos following the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi.
In May, the family of a slain Libyan human trafficker attacked a group of migrants in the desert town of Mizdah, shooting and killing at least 30 migrants. mostly from Bangladesh, according to the U.N. migration agency.
In July, Libyan authorities shot dead three Sudanese migrants in the western coastal town of Khoms. The migrants were reportedly trying to escape after they were intercepted by the Libyan coast guard in the Mediterranean Sea and returned to shore.
Migrants typically pass through Libya on their way to Europe, departing from Tripoli’s rocky coastline in inflatable dinghies.
