A report prepared by a group of researchers has revealed a systematic network for the exchange of migrants between Tunisian and Libyan authorities on the shared border. These operations are described as “human trafficking,” involving men, women, and even unaccompanied children, according to survivor testimonies and research reports.
Details of the Dubious Deals
A report by researchers at Chercheurs et Chercheuses X group and featured on the “Migrant News” website, stated that security forces from both sides exchange groups of migrants for amounts ranging between 40 and 300 dinars (12-90 euros) per individual, or in exchange for drugs and fuel. Witnesses confirmed that the sales operations take place at night under the threat of weapons, where migrants are forced to cross the border into Libyan trucks, and at the same time, financial negotiations are conducted away from their sight.
A Market Where Women Are Valued at the Highest Prices
According to the testimony of a Sudanese migrant named Musa, the process begins with hundreds being thrown into the desert by the Tunisian authorities, before being received by armed and masked Libyan militias. Reports indicated that women – including pregnant women – are considered “a commodity of higher value” in this black market.
From the Desert to Torture Chambers
After the transfers, the victims are held in unofficial desert prisons, such as Al-Assa Prison – 20 km from the Tunisian border- which a UN report issued in June 2024 described as a “hotbed of serious violations.” Testimonies indicate that detainees are subjected to systematic torture, where they are forced to contact their families to pay ransoms reaching thousands of dollars, while some bodies are transferred to mass graves dug by the prisoners themselves.
European Complicity
European Union countries continue to cooperate with Tunisia and Libya in their “war on immigration,” as Brussels signed an agreement with Tunisia in July 2023 that inflates the funding of its security apparatus by 105 million euros to “stop the flow of migrants,” in addition to direct financial grants worth 150 million euros.
This comes at a time when human rights activists warn that European money is being used to finance the same trafficking networks, amid a suspicious international silence towards the transformation of the southern borders into an arena for crimes against humanity committed in the name of “migration management.”
