One of the most notorious people smugglers who helped ferry asylum seekers to Europe has reportedly been assassinated in Libya.
Abdel-Rahman Milad, also known as Bija, was killed on Sunday in the town of Sayyad, which lies around 15 miles west of Tripoli – according to reports.
The incident occurred after he left the naval academy in Janzour, riding in a vehicle driven by a chauffeur.
Photos of a bullet-riddled white Toyota Land Cruiser on the side of a road and with a man’s body inside were later published by local media.
The 34-year-old gained a reputation for being a major player in human trafficking and was placed on Interpol’s red notice in 2018.
This followed a decision by the UN Security Council to sanction him and five others in the country.
At the time, he was described as the head of a coast guard unit in Zawiya “that is consistently linked with violence against migrants and other human smugglers”.
The UN claimed Milad and other coast guard members “were directly involved in the sinking of migrant boats using firearms.”
In 2017 he was at a meeting in Sicily attended by North African delegates from a handful of international humanitarian agencies, according to the Italian newspaper Avvenire.
The meeting followed a series of summits between Italy and Libya, where plans for greater cooperation is combatting illegal immigration were agreed.
In 2019, after news of his participation in the meeting emerged, officials in Tripoli issued an arrest warrant.
He was taken into custody in 2020, before being released in 2021 and promoted from captain to major.
Milad’s death has shocked and infuriated his supporters, who vowed to avenge his killing.
Abdallah Allafi, a member of Libya’s Presidential Council, said in a Facebook post that the perpetrators would “not escape divine punishment”.
Moammar Dhawi, a militia leader in western Libya, also publicly mourned his death, calling for an investigation to bring the killers to account.
Libya has been plagued by corruption and turmoil since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.
The county has since then been split between two administrations, each backed by armed groups and foreign governments.
