The International Organization for Migration (IOM) spoke to African migrants who recounted their experiences of being bought and sold in garages and parking lots in the southern city of Sabha, one of Libya’s main migrant smuggling hubs.

Migrants are typically traded for as little as $200 to $500, and are held for an average of two to three months, Othman Belbeisi, the head of the IOM’s Libya mission, told reporters in Geneva on Tuesday.

“Migrants are being sold in the market as a commodity,” he said, as quoted by Reuters.

“Selling human beings is becoming a trend among smugglers as the smuggling networks in Libya are becoming stronger and stronger,” Belbeisi added.

Many of the migrants are used as day laborers in construction and agriculture. Although some are paid, others are forced to work without pay, before being sold onwards to new buyers.

Women often face extremely tragic fates.

“About women, we heard a lot about bad treatment, rape and being forced into prostitution,” Belbeisi said.

https://www.rt.com/news/384384-migrants-libya-slave-markets/