OVER 300 KURDISH MIGRANTS KIDNAPPED AND TORTURED IN LIBYA

More than 300 migrants from Iraqi Kurdistan travelling to the United Kingdom were kidnapped in Libya during the summer of 2024 and held for ransom by a militia. The captors demanded $5,000 (£3,700) per hostage from families, threatening to remove the captives' kidneys if payment was not made promptly. Former hostages provided evidence of torture and described being held in severely overcrowded conditions, with nearly 180 people confined to a single cell. At least one person is confirmed to have died in captivity, and the number still held remains unknown.

The migrants had been organised by Iraqi Kurdish people-smuggler Noah Aaron, whose gang charged families thousands of dollars to arrange a route through north Africa, across the Mediterranean and into Europe. A dispute over payment between Aaron and the Libyan militia triggered the kidnappings. Aaron is currently serving a ten-year prison sentence in France for separate money laundering and smuggling offences. The BBC obtained photographic evidence suggesting that forced surgical operations did take place on some captives.

The kidnappings came to light during a separate investigation into another smuggler, Kardo Jaf, both of whom originate from the town of Ranya in Iraqi Kurdistan. Jaf was arrested last month following that inquiry. Chatham House, the UK think tank, has described Iraqi Kurdistan as riddled with active smuggling networks. Anthony Dunkerley, a United Nations adviser who has investigated human trafficking in Libya, described the country as having a vast vacuum of government, with rival militias controlling much of its territory.