As hundreds of young African men make a perilous journey over the Mediterranean from Libya to reach European shores, shocking reports, from the North African migrant routes, have been documented by the United Nation's (U.N.) International Organization of Migration (IOM), of what the organization has described as "slave markets. "What we know is that migrants who fall into the hands of smugglers face systematic malnutrition, sexual abuse and even murder. An agreement between Italy and Libya to fight human-trafficking in the North African nation will lead to migrants being returned to camps, where they are held against their will, extorted and abused, he said. The sea crossing from Libya to Italy, operated by human-traffickers based in the North African country, is now the main route for migrants bound for Europe. In Libya, the turmoil engulfing the North African country has become a death trap for thousands of migrants, most of them from sub-Saharan African countries, seeking to escape poverty and find a better life in Europe.

Source: The North Africa Journal April 11, 2017 21:45 UTC