Migrants arriving in Italy on Monday, December the 18th spoke of how they had been sold to armed gangs in Libya several times before successfully making it across the Mediterranean sea.
Some 300 migrants were rescued over the weekend and arrived in the Italian port of Pozzallo after being pulled from tiny dinghies just off the Libyan coast. Doctors working onboard the SOS Mediterranee ship Aquarius said many migrants had told stories of torture they had experienced whilst waiting in Libya before their crossing to Italy.
Nigerian migrant Nwankwo Johnson said he had been sold several times to armed gangs in Libya and treated like an animal before making it onto a boat that was rescued by a humanitarian organisation.
Libya‘s western shores are the main departure point for migrants mainly from sub-Saharan countries fleeing poverty and conflict trying to reach Europe.
