Libyan coastguard commander admits hitting migrants

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A Libyan coastguard commander sanctioned by the United Nations for alleged human trafficking and migrant smuggling said he hits migrants but does so for their own safety to prevent capsizing.

Abdalrahman al-Milad, who heads a coastguard unit in Zawiya, west of Tripoli, was one of six people sanctioned for involvement in people trafficking or smuggling in Libya on June 7, the first move of its kind.

The sanctions freeze bank accounts of those listed and ban them from travelling internationally. They are an attempt to crack down on smuggling networks that have sent hundreds of thousands of migrants on a risky voyage across the Mediterranean.

The UN Security Council said Milad’s unit was “consistently linked with violence against migrants and other human smugglers” and cited claims by a UN panel of experts that he and other coastguard members were “directly involved in sinking migrant boats using firearms”.

It also listed migrant witness testimony who said they were brought on a ship used by Milad to a detention centre where they were reportedly held in brutal conditions and beaten.

Speaking to Reuters in a phone interview, Milad denied wrongdoing or involvement in smuggling and said he was prepared to hand himself over to international authorities if granted a fair trial.
“I reject these accusations,” said Milad, also known as al-Bija. “The Security Council has categorised me as a criminal without any evidence.”
“They accuse me of striking migrants. Yes, I strike migrants so they sit correctly and don’t move about. There is another migrant next to him and the slightest movement can overturn the boat or make a hole and then they all drown.”
“Regarding me carrying out human smuggling, this is not true … I am a legitimate officer in the navy and the only coastguard unit working since 2014.”
“I have never fired a bullet at migrants.” Milad did not address the allegation migrants were mistreated at a detention centre.

Libya has two coastguards, one part of the navy and patrols at sea and one under the interior ministry operating along the coast. The navy has routinely denied accusations its coastguard abuses migrants.

Milad provided pictures of him in camouflage uniform aboard, giving instructions to his crew. He said he was active in preventing illegal fishing and blocked fuel and scrap metal smuggling.

HUGE PROFITS

Migrant smugglers have made vast profits by exploiting a security vacuum in Libya since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled Muammar Gaddafi.

Milad received a monthly salary of 820 dinars, equivalent to $600 at the official rate, or just $120 at the black market rate. His 30 to 40 men sometimes made “mistakes”, but he could not always be held responsible. He blamed rivals for smuggling migrants.

The number of migrants crossing from Libya to Italy dropped sharply from last July, when smuggling from Sabratha, west of Zawiya, was disrupted. There are still frequent departures and deaths.

Libya’s coastguard, which has received boats, equipment and training from Italy and the European Union, has become more active, intercepting more migrants and bringing them back to Libya. Milad said his unit received a boat and some of his men had undergone training.

One of those sanctioned along with Milad was Mohammed Kachlaf, Milad’s cousin and head of a guard unit at Zawiya’s refinery. The Security Council said Kachlaf was suspected of providing cover for Milad’s alleged migrant smuggling activity.

Kachlaf was accused of fuel smuggling by Libya’s National Oil Corporation, which called for the sanctions list to be expanded to include other alleged fuel smugglers across Libya. Kachlaf could not immediately be contacted for comment.
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