Africa’s new slave trade: how migrants flee poverty to get sucked into a world of violent #crime | Global development | The Guardian
►https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2017/may/13/modern-slavery-african-migrants-libya
The dangers of attempting to cross the Mediterranean to #Europe, in overcrowded, unseaworthy vessels, have been highlighted by a series of desperate rescue missions and thousands of deaths at sea in recent years. Last week, at least 245 people were killed by shipwrecks, bringing the toll for this year alone to 1,300.
Less well-known are the dangers of Libya itself for migrants fleeing poverty across West Africa. The country’s slide into #chaos following the 2011 death of dictator Muammar Gaddafi and the collapse of the government have made it a breeding ground for crime and #exploitation . Two rival governments, an Isis franchise and countless local militias competing for control of a vast, sparsely populated territory awash in weapons, have allowed traffickers to flourish, checked only by the activities of their criminal rivals.