At least 40 people have been killed by an air strike that hit a migrant detention centre in Libya, officials say.
Another 80 are reported to have been wounded in the explosion, which happened at a facility in an eastern suburb of the capital, Tripoli, according to a BBC News report. The majority of those killed are reported to be African migrants.
In recent years, Libya has been a key springboard for migrants seeking to travel to Europe. The country has been torn by violence and division since long-time ruler Muammar Gaddafi was deposed and killed in 2011. Osama Ali, a spokesman for the emergency services, told that 120 migrants had been in a hangar which was directly hit by the strike.
He added that more people may have been killed because the death toll so far was “a preliminary assessment”. The UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA), which is led by Prime Minister Fayez al-Serra, has blamed the self-styled Libyan National Army (LNA) for Tuesday’s strike in the suburb of Tajoura.
In a statement, it said the attack was “premeditated” and “precise” and denounced it as a “heinous crime”.
The LNA – led by strongman Khalifa Haftar – has been fighting forces loyal to the country’s internationally recognised government in the area where the strike happened.
It had announced on Monday that it would start heavy air strikes on targets in Tripoli after “traditional means” of war had been exhausted.
But a spokesperson for the LNA told that its forces had not hit the detention centre. The UN refugee agency said it was “extremely concerned” at reports of the strikes on the migrant centre. Doctor Khalid Bin Attia attended the scene of the attack. “People were everywhere,” he told the BBC. “The camp was destroyed, people are crying, there is psychological trauma. It was horrible.”
