Dozens of migrants held for ransom by criminal gang in Libya released from captivity

Relief in Libya as dozens of migrants kidnapped by a gang of traffickers are freed from captivity. 

More than 100 people, including five women, had been held for ransom in the northeastern town of Ajdabiya.

The country’s attorney general said they’d been trafficked and tortured in a bid to force their families to pay for their release. 

Officials say five suspected traffickers from Libya, Sudan and Egypt have been arrested.

Mediterranean crossing

Libya has become a transit route for migrants fleeing conflict and poverty and hoping to get to Europe.

Many migrants desperate to make the dangerous Mediterranean crossing have fallen into the hands of traffickers.

Last week, the Greek parliament approved a three-month suspension of asylum claims for migrants arriving by sea from Libya following a dramatic surge in Mediterranean crossings that has overwhelmed reception facilities on the island of Crete.

The emergency measure has drawn strong criticism from human rights groups and the United Nations.