Libyan health officials said the Tajoura detention center on the outskirts of the capital, Tripoli, was attacked on Tuesday night, killing at least 40 people and injuring 80 others. This detention center is mainly for African immigrants.
According to Reuters, photos posted by Libyan officials show that African immigrants who were attacked were undergoing surgery at the hospital.
Immigrants from Africa and Arab countries travel mainly from Libya to Italy, but many are intercepted by the Libyan Coast Guard, which is assisted by the EU. Thousands of people have been detained in detention centers run by the government.
Armed forces with an internationally recognized Libyan government, several military camps are located in Tajura, east of Tripoli. The internationally recognized Libyan government and the Libyan National Army (LNA), which is trying to seize the eastern powers of Tripoli, have waged a three-month civil war.
The Libyan National Army said the day before yesterday that the “traditional means” of the war had been exhausted and that a large-scale air strike would be launched in Tripoli.
However, after the Libyan National Army denied attacking the detention center and said that the Libyan National Army had carried out a precise air strike against a military camp, the detention center was shelled by a militia allied with the Tripoli authorities.
