Eastern Libya Expands Migrant Transfers After June Entry Ban

Authorities in eastern Libya said on July 12 that they had removed or transferred 165 migrants in operations involving the Tobruk-area branch and Ajdabiya, with some people moved to Benghazi for further procedures. The announcement shows that migration enforcement is continuing beyond the eastern-based government’s June 23 entry ban on nationals of Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia.

The figures come from the Libyan News Agency, which cited Libya’s Directorate to Counter Illegal Migration. The agency said the Butnan branch, which covers the Tobruk area, handled 127 migrants. One group left through the Umm Saad land crossing, while another was transferred to the Benghazi الكبرى shelter and deportation center to complete procedures for return to their countries.

The Ajdabiya branch separately transferred 38 migrants from its shelter to the Benghazi branch. The official account described those movements as steps toward return under what it called applicable legal and humanitarian rules. It did not establish that every person in the combined total had already left Libya.

What the official account says

The Ajdabiya group included nationals of Bangladesh, Pakistan, Eritrea, Ivory Coast, Yemen, Morocco, Nigeria and Niger, according to the Libyan report. That list does not show that all 165 people were nationals of the four countries covered by the June entry restriction.

The eastern authorities presented the operation as part of a security plan aimed at enforcing migration rules, regulating the status of foreign nationals and maintaining public order. The operation was conducted by eastern-based structures linked to the Libyan Arab Armed Forces, not by a unified national government. Libya remains divided between rival administrations and separate security systems in the east and west.

Why rights groups are concerned

Human Rights Watch has reported mass arrests, arbitrary detention and unlawful collective expulsions by authorities and allied armed groups in both eastern and western Libya. In a July 17 assessment, the organization also criticized proposed or expanding European cooperation with eastern Libyan structures, warning that migration-control assistance could expose migrants and refugees to further abuse.

Those are rights-group findings and policy demands, not a court ruling on the July operation. The official Libyan announcement also does not independently establish the migrants’ treatment, access to protection screening or whether any individuals had claims requiring review before removal.

UNHCR’s operational update for March 2026 reported that 6,101 people were being held in detention centers across Libya at the end of March. It said 2,238 of them, or 36 percent, were potentially in need of international protection. UNHCR also reported access to detention facilities in eastern Libya, including in Benghazi and Tobruk. These figures describe the situation at the end of March, not a current August total.

What changes for migrants and observers

The material change is operational: eastern Libya’s migration policy is being implemented through arrests, transfers and return procedures as well as through an entry restriction. Transfers between facilities can affect whether migrants and refugees are identified for protection needs and whether humanitarian agencies can reach them.

The development also matters beyond Libya. The country is a major departure and interception point on Mediterranean migration routes, and European governments are under continuing scrutiny over cooperation with Libyan authorities. AP reported that people intercepted at sea and returned to Libya are commonly held in detention centers, while rights groups and U.N. bodies have documented serious protection concerns.

The immediate question is what happened after the announced transfers: whether more people were removed, whether those sent to Benghazi received individual review, and whether independent monitors were able to verify their treatment. The July 12 statement confirms the eastern authorities’ announced actions, but it does not independently establish the final status of all 165 migrants.

Sources

• Libyan News Agency: Migrant removals in Butnan and Ajdabiya, July 12, 2026
• UNHCR: Libya Operational Update — March 2026
• Human Rights Watch: EU Should End Abusive Migration Cooperation with Libyan Authorities
• Associated Press: Libya’s eastern government bans entry for citizens of four African countries