The Libyan government is investigating reports of African migrants being sold as slaves and promised to bring the perpetrators to justice.
Footage broadcast by CNN appearing to show African migrants being traded in Libya sparked an international outcry and protests in Europe and Africa.
“There have been direct instructions issued to form an investigative committee so as to uncover the truth and to capture the wrongdoers, and those responsible, and put them before the judiciary,” Libyan Interior Minister Aref al-Khodja told journalists in Tripoli.
“We are now currently waiting for the results of the investigations which I believe are coming to a close.”
The video report showed what it said was an auction of men offered to Libyan buyers as farmhands and sold for $400, appearing to confirm earlier reports of the existence of markets for trading migrants in Libya.
“We call on local and international bodies to cooperate with the Attorney General’s Office and provide any information that helps to reveal the truth,” the presidency said in a statement.
