Libya migrant aid centre storming sent to prosecutor

Libya's Tripoli-based foreign ministry said it had referred reports and complaints about the storming of a UN-linked migrant service centre to the public prosecutor's office, after the United Nations condemned what it called “deeply aggressive acts”.

The UN has not identified the specific agency involved, but videos circulating on social media since Monday showed people forcing their way into the premises of the International Organization for Migration in Tripoli, ransacking furniture and driving out occupants.

The IOM said late Monday that the United Nations in Libya strongly condemned repeated incidents that occurred that morning at the premises of a service centre managed by one of the UN agencies in Tripoli. The UN said it acknowledged that authorities had taken action to respond to the incident and had taken steps to investigate.

The foreign ministry called on citizens to refrain from acts targeting the premises, property, vehicles or personnel of international organisations. It said freedom of expression and peaceful protest did not justify intrusion, vandalism, threats or endangering people's safety, and said such acts carried legal accountability.

The issue of migrants and allegations of plans to settle them permanently in Libya has stirred debate in recent months. Protesters have regularly gathered outside UN agency offices, including the IOM and the UN refugee agency, blocking entrances and saying they want the offices closed and staff expelled.

Libya has been unstable and divided between rival governments since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Smugglers and traffickers have used the instability to build clandestine networks for migrants hoping to reach Europe by sea.