Libyan authorities have arrested several Sudanese refugees in the Green Mountain region on charges of violating residency laws and engaging in street begging, as part of intensified security operations targeting irregular migration across the country.
The Department for Combating Illegal Migration (DCIM) announced that 29 Sudanese nationals, including women and children, were detained during a joint security operation in the Green Mountain area. The group was transferred to the Qanfouda detention centre in Benghazi, where they await deportation to Sudan.
According to the DCIM, the arrests were conducted by patrols from the Joint Security Room as part of ongoing field campaigns to curb residency and migration violations. The agency said the move forms part of a broader national plan to combat street begging and the exploitation of vulnerable groups, especially women and children, in public spaces.
Authorities said the initiative seeks to preserve public order and maintain what they called the “civil image” of Libyan cities by strictly enforcing residency and labour laws. Similar operations have recently been carried out in several areas hosting large refugee and migrant communities, amid rising strain on Libya’s infrastructure and public services.
According to a September report by the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR), Libya hosts around 357,000 Sudanese refugees spread across multiple regions. The highest concentration is in Kufra municipality, home to about 193,000 people. Tripoli accommodates roughly 80,000, Benghazi about 10,000, while thousands more live in Misrata, Zawiya, Jafara, Derna, Tobruk, and the Green Mountain region.
