The UN migration agency has deployed emergency teams to eastern Libya to assist hundreds of migrants released from illegal detention sites where they were held in appalling conditions.

IOM, in a statement, stated that Libyan authorities last week closed an unlawful detention facility in Ajdabiya, leading to the release of 195 migrants and the recovery of 21 bodies from a nearby burial site.

Initial investigations indicate the victims had been held captive and subjected to torture to extort ransom payments from their families.

In a separate operation in Kufra, security forces uncovered an underground detention site three metres below ground.

A total of 221 migrants and refugees were freed, including women and children, among them a one-month-old baby.

At least ten people were transferred to the hospital for urgent treatment after being held for prolonged periods in grossly inhumane conditions.

“These shocking cases highlight the severe risks faced by migrants who fall prey to criminal networks operating along migration routes,” Nicoletta Giordano, IOM’s chief of mission in Libya, said.

IOM teams are providing medical screenings, referring urgent cases to hospitals and distributing warm clothing to survivors.

The agency welcomed efforts by Libyan authorities to rescue victims and launch investigations.

It stressed the need to strengthen protection systems, dismantle trafficking networks and ensure accountability for perpetrators.

In a related development, despite severe funding shortfalls, the UN refugee agency responded to a surge in complex emergencies and deepening long-running crises last year.

According to its newly released ‘2025 Impact Report: Response to New Emergencies and Protracted Crises’, throughout 2025, agency teams provided protection and assistance in some of the world’s most volatile settings.

They supported people fleeing renewed violence in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo into Burundi and Uganda.

They also assisted those escaping fresh fighting in and beyond South Sudan and helped millions of Afghans returning or being forced back from Iran and Pakistan.

Protracted crises also worsened.

Ongoing conflict in Sudan, intensified attacks on Ukraine, and escalating violence in Colombia triggered repeated displacement, further eroding already fragile living conditions.

“In 2025, displacement occurred amid protracted conflict, recurrent disasters, and new outbreaks of violence,” said Ayaki Ito, UNHCR’s Director of Emergency and Programme Support. “In this environment, UNHCR teams continued to respond to the needs of people forced to flee, even as severe resource constraints limited our capacity.”

Emergency support included clean water for half a million people in Sudan, cash assistance for Afghan and Syrian returnees, and more than a million services for displaced people inside Ukraine and in neighbouring host countries.

UNHCR warned that humanitarian needs are set to rise further in 2026 as conflicts continue to drive displacement, affecting nearly 52 million people.

(NAN)