Ethiopia confirms nationals among those enslaved in Libya

ADDIS ABABA, Dec. 7 (Xinhua) -- Ethiopian nationals are among African migrants who've been trapped in slavery in the North African nation Libya, an Ethiopian official said on Thursday.

Speaking to journalists, Meles Alem, Spokesperson for the Ethiopia Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) said his government is working to prepare travel documents to the vulnerable Ethiopians to return home.

He further said Ethiopians have been identified as part of human trafficking networks that sell African migrants to slavery in Libya.

Hundreds of thousands of African migrants have in recent years used Libya lying on the southern coast of Mediterranean Sea as a transit route to be smuggled to Europe.

However, with Libya being in a state of anarchy ever since the demise of long time ruler Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the country has been a haven for terror groups and criminals.

Stories of African migrants being sold to slavery in Libya has been harrowing to Ethiopians who still remember the execution of about two dozen Ethiopian migrants by terrorists in April 2015 in Libya.

It is estimated thousands of Ethiopians have in recent years used Libya as a transit point to be smuggled to European countries. Enditem