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A Somali businessman has secured the release of 400 migrants, including 50 women, from detention centers in Libya in what community leaders describe as the largest collective release of its kind.
Abshir Aden Ferro, a Somali-born businessman and former French military officer now based in Europe, traveled to Tripoli in early August after hearing that a 25-year-old relative had been abducted. Once in the coastal town of Tajoura, he discovered that hundreds of other Somalis were also being held in dire conditions. Ferro said he used his own resources to negotiate their release, stressing that no ransom was paid. “I could not, in good conscience, leave the others behind,” he said.
The head of the Somali community in Libya called the release unprecedented in scale, saying that no one had ever before managed to free so many at once. Survivors who walked free described months and even years of abuse. Halima, a 22-year-old woman, said she spent 18 months in captivity and survived on little more than “a piece of bread and a glass of water a day.” Another survivor, 19-year-old Mohamed Abdullahi, recalled being locked in overcrowded cells and beaten when his family could not pay ransom. “You were only lucky if your family could send money,” he said.
Ferro, who runs a London-based security firm called the Cruzen Group, admitted the experience left him deeply shaken. “I am sick and traumatized by what I saw. By the grace of God, I happened to meet other victims, and we brought them out. But thousands more are still trapped, and their cries must not be ignored,” he said. He also criticized Somali leaders and the wider international community for failing to act against the abuse of migrants in Libya.
The United Nations and aid groups have long documented shocking violations against migrants in Libya. Reports describe widespread torture, forced labor, extortion, and sexual exploitation in detention centers, many of which are controlled by militias. According to the International Organization for Migration, Libya hosted about 867,000 migrants of 44 nationalities between March and April 2025. Humanitarian groups estimate that roughly 7,000 Somalis are missing or held in militia-run or informal sites.
Observers say the suffering has been worsened by European-backed migration control programs, which support Libya’s coast guard to intercept migrant boats at sea. Many of those returned end up stuck in abusive detention centers, without legal recourse or safe passage.
The space for humanitarian assistance has also shrunk in 2025. In April, Libyan authorities suspended the operations of 10 international aid groups, a move that aid workers said would further harm migrants and reduce independent monitoring. Although Libyan authorities occasionally announce raids on extortion sites, rights groups argue these efforts are too limited to bring real change. On August 29, for instance, police in Tripoli said they freed 62 migrants, including Somalis, from a detention house in Tajoura–Al-Naeam where detainees were held for ransom.
While Ferro’s intervention provided rare relief for hundreds, aid organizations warn that the crisis is far from over. Migrants, particularly Somali youth and other Africans, remain at severe risk along one of the most dangerous migration routes in the world. Without safe pathways, accountability, and stronger protection measures, thousands more could continue to face exploitation, abuse, and death in Libya’s shadowy detention network.