Three Returned Migrants Shot Dead On Libya Coast

Three Sudanese migrants were killed in a shootout in Libya after the country's coast guard intercepted them at sea and returned them to shore, the UN refugee Agency said on Tuesday.

The international organization for migration said separately that " local authorities started shooting when migrants tried to escape from the drop-off point."

The UNHCR said it "regrets the tragic death of three people and calls for an urgent investigation" into the shootings in al-Humsa, a port city about 100 kilometers (60 miles) East of Tripoli late on Monday.

"The shooting occurred after more than 70 people were disembarked from the ship," the UNHCR said, adding that two migrants died at the scene, and a third died on the way to the hospital, and two others were injured.

"The remaining persons who were disembarked were transferred to custody," the statement said.

Libya has become a key route for illegal migration to Europe in the chaotic years since the 2011 ouster and murder of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising.

"This incident sharply underscores that Libya is not a safe port for disembarkation," said Vincent Kochetel, UNHCR's Special envoy for the situation in the Central Mediterranean.

"There is a need to increase search and rescue capabilities in the Mediterranean, including NGO vessels, in order to increase the likelihood of rescue operations leading to landings in safe ports outside of Libya. IOM also stressed that " Libya is not a safe port, and (repeated) its call for the European Union and the international community to take urgent action to end the return of vulnerable people to Libya."

"The suffering of migrants in Libya is unbearable," said Federico Soda, head of the IOM mission in Libya, whose organization said three people were injured.

"The use of excessive violence again leads to senseless loss of life against the background of the lack of action to change the system, which often does not provide any degree of protection."