Tripoli(ANN)- At least 50 migrants were reportedly injured after they staged a protest that was suppressed inside a detention centre in the capital Tripoli, the United Nations said on Friday, Reuters reports.
The protest had been “driven by frustration and anxiety” as the migrants had been held for months “in extremely dire conditions,” the U.N. refugee agency UNHCR said.
“Around 50 people were reportedly injured when the authorities sought to suppress the protest. Two individuals were badly injured and transferred to Abu Salim hospital,” a UNHCR statement said, without giving more details.
A government official declined to comment, while the detention centre could not be for reached for comment.
Libya’s west coast is a leading departure point in North Africa for migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, mainly from other parts of Africa fleeing wars and poverty.