A notorious Libyan coastguard member under UN Security Council sanctions for his alleged involvement in people smuggling and abuses against migrants has been killed in western Libya.
The death of Abd Al Rahman Al Milad, more commonly known as Al Bija, was confirmed by the coastguard of Libya's western sector and Abdullah Al Lafi, the deputy head of the country's Presidential Council. Mr Al Lafi described Mr Al Milad, a commander stationed in Zawiyah, a town in western Libya, as an important member of the coastguard.
Libyan officials said the “assassination” took place on Sunday to the west of the capital, Tripoli, but the circumstances of his death were not immediately known.
Footage circulated online showed bullet holes in the side of a white Toyota Land Cruiser used by Mr Al Milad. No group claimed responsibility for the killing.
Libya has become known as a hot spot for migrants and refugees from sub-Saharan Africa seeking to make it to Europe. In 2020, Amnesty International said they were trapped in a “vicious cycle of cruelty”, suffering abuses in detention centres.
Among the abuses they are subjected to are sexual assault, physical attacks and arbitrary detention. The EU, led by Italy, has faced intense criticism for supporting and collaborating with Libyan coastguard units accused of involvement in such abuses – including with commanders such as Mr Al Milad.
The Security Council imposed sanctions on Mr Al Milad in 2018 and described him as the head of the regional unit of the coastguard in Zawiyah. The council said his unit was “consistently linked with violence against migrants and other human smugglers” and accused him of being directly involved in the use of firearms to sink migrant boats.
But while he was held responsible for abuses against migrants, he was also accused of collaborating with human traffickers.
Mr Al Milad was known to have close ties to Mohammed Kachlaf, also under Security Council sanctions, who commanded a local militia called Al Nasr in Zawiyah and controlled a notorious detention centre. Under its listing of Mr Kachlaf, the Security Council said Mr Al Milad's unit intercepted boats carrying migrants, often of rivalling migrant smuggling networks.
“Migrants are then brought to detention facilities under the control of the Al Nasr militia, where they are reportedly held in critical conditions,” the council added.
Mr Al Milad was arrested in 2020 in Libya for his alleged involvement in trafficking and violence against migrants but was released a year later. He had repeatedly rejected the accusations against him.