TRIPOLI, June 12 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) on Monday voiced its concern about the mass arbitrary arrest of illegal migrants and asylum-seekers in Libya.
"We are concerned about the mass arbitrary arrest of migrants and asylum-seekers across the country. Libyan authorities have arrested thousands of men, women and children from the streets and their homes or following raids on alleged traffickers' camps and warehouses," UNSMIL said in a statement posted on its twitter account.
Many of these migrants, including pregnant women and children, are being detained in overcrowded and unsanitary conditions, UNSMIL added.
UNSMIL called on Libyan authorities to "halt these actions and treat migrants with dignity and humanity in line with their international obligations".
UNSMIL also demanded the Libyan authorities to grant UN agencies and international non-governmental organizations (INGOs) unimpeded access to detainees in need of urgent protection.
Due to the insecurity and chaos in the country since the fall of late leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011, many migrants, mostly Africans, choose to cross the Mediterranean Sea to European shores from Libya.
So far this year, a total of 7,292 illegal migrants have been rescued and returned to Libya, according to the International Organization for Migration.
