Libyan rebels holding 200 Nigerians hostage

A National Transitional Council (NTC) fighter (left) guards three men suspected of belonging to a Gaddafi underground group during a raid in Tripoli’s flashpoint Abu Slim neighbourhood … yesterday. The city has become dangerous for black immigrants.

The
crackdown on Nigerians in Libya continued yesterday, with the arrest of
25 by the rebel-controlled Transitional National Council (TNC), which
has slackened Col. Muammar Gaddafi’s 42-year grip on power.
The
development has brought the number of Nigerians in detention to over
200, The Nation learnt. There are fears that the detained Nigerians may
be killed by the rebels, if the Federal Government does not act on time.

A
spokesman for trapped Nigerians in Tripoli, Mr. Daramola Siji, who spoke
with our correspondent on the telephone, said: “About 25 Nigerians were
today arrested in Tripoli and they are being detained in Salahdin part
of the capital city. We have no access to them at all.
“So
far, we have over 200 Nigerians being detained in various parts of
Libya. We do not know their fate. We are praying that they will not be
killed like other black migrant workers.
“The
general pattern is that the rebels mount roadblocks and everytime black
people are sighted in a bus, they will quickly arrest them and hound
them into various cells in the city.”

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