UN urges Tripoli to release asylum seekers

A top UN official has urged Libyan authorities to free all asylum seekers and refugees from its detention centres in Tripoli. ‘I hope first of all that asylum seekers and refugees can be taken out of detention centres,’ said UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi. A report on the News24 site notes that he added that he fully appreciates that the government has security concerns. Thousands of migrants are being held in dozens of detention centres after being stopped or rescued from rickety boats as they attempted the perilous Mediterranean crossing to Europe. ‘I was shocked at the harsh conditions in which refugees and migrants are held,’ Grandi said, according to the report.