- UN received reports from a detention center about breaches by armed actors
- Numerous African migrants pass by Libya as they flee to Europe
BENGHAZI: The UN says the fighting in Libya鈥檚 capital has reached a detention center holding hundreds of detained migrants and refugees.
Stephane Dujarric, a spokesman for the UN secretary-general, said Tuesday that the UN aid agency has received reports that the Qasr Ben Ghashir detention center, holding some 890 refugees and migrants, was 鈥渂reached by armed actors.鈥� The facility is 20 kilometers south of central Tripoli.
The UN says some 3,600 refugees and migrants are held in facilities near the front lines of fighting between the self-styled Libyan National Army and other heavily-armed militias.
Libya became a major conduit for African migrants and refugees fleeing to Europe after the uprising that toppled and killed Muammar Qaddafi in 2011. Thousands have been detained by armed groups and smugglers.