UN slaps sanctions on six human traffickers in Libya

BY Libyan Express Jun 08, 2018 - 00:07

Migrants arrive in the port of Messina after a rescue operation at see on April 18, 2015 in Sicily. AFP PHOTO / GIOVANNI ISOLINO (Photo credit should read GIOVANNI ISOLINO/AFP/Getty Images)

The United Nations Security Council on Thursday sanctioned six people for involvement in human trafficking and smuggling of migrants in Libya after Russia lifted a hold it had set on the request for action against the individuals.

The Netherlands, backed by France, Germany, Britain and the United States, asked the 15-member council’s Libya sanctions committee last month to impose a global asset freeze and travel ban on the six people, Reuters reported.

Russia had asked in May for more information on the proposed action. With the Russian hold lifted, the sanctions go into effect immediately.

The six people listed are Mus’Ab Abu-Qarin, Mohammed Kachlaf, Abd Al Rahman Al-Milad, Ermias Ghermay, Fitiwi Abdelrazak and Ahmad Oumar Al-Dabbashi, Reuters reported.

People smugglers operating with impunity in Libya have sent hundreds of thousands of migrants by sea to Europe, mainly Italy, since 2014. Thousands have died during the voyages.

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