UN condemns violence against detained migrants in Libya

CAIRO – The U.N.'s migration agency is condemning violence against protesting migrants in a detention center in Libya's capital.

Tuesday's statement by the International Organization for Migration calls for urgent access to individuals who have been removed from the Trig al-Sikka detention center in Tripoli.

The statement said migrants were protesting against their detention late in February.

The U.N. refugee agency says around 50 people were reportedly injured when police moved in to end the protest.

IOM says "no matter the circumstances that led to this particular incident, violence against migrants cannot be justified."

Libya has emerged as a major transit point to Europe for those fleeing poverty and civil war elsewhere in Africa. Traffickers have exploited Libya's chaos following the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi.