AU urges independent inquiry on migrant center attack near Libyan capital

The African Union (AU) Peace and Security Council on Saturday called for an urgent independent inquiry on the recent airstrike on a migrant detention center in Libya that killed 53 migrants and injured more than 130.

The Council made the remarks in a statement issued on Saturday following its recent meeting on the situation in Libya and the plight of African migrants in Libya.

Debris covers the ground and an emergency vehicle after an airstrike at a detention center in Tajoura, east of Tripoli in Libya, Wednesday, July 3, 2019. [Photo: IC]

The council "decides an independent inquiry to be urgently instituted, with the participation of the African Commission on Human and Peoples' Rights (ACHPR)."

The Council further called for the ACHPR "to submit the outcome of the investigation to Council by September 30, 2019 for its consideration."

It also underscored the central role of the AU, working closely with the countries across the region, in the search for a durable solution to the crisis in Libya.

An injured migrant lies on a hospital bed connected to life support systems at a medical emergency ward in a hospital in the capital Tripoli on July 3, 2019, following an air strike on a nearby building that left dozens killed. [Photo: VCG/AFP/Mahmud Turkia]

"The Council insists that all partners engaged in supporting the efforts to resolve the Libyan crisis should complement and respect the approach of the AU," the statement read.

The council also condemned "in the strongest terms possible, the perpetrators of the savage attack, whoever they are, which was carried out on July 3 at Tajoura Migrant Detention Centre in the vicinity of Tripoli in Libya, against migrants, which caused loss of lives and left hundreds injured, among them."

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the death toll from the attack has climbed 53, while more than 130 others sustained injuries from the attack.