- Title: Libyan forces free foreign captives from militants
- Date: 25th October 2016
- Summary: MISRATA, LIBYA (OCTOBER 24, 2016) (REUTERS) VARIOUS OF FREED FEMALE CAPTIVES SITTING WITH CHILDREN FEMALE CAPTIVE HOLDING CHILD ON LAP FACE OF CHILD (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) FREED FEMALE CAPTIVE, ODETTE (SURNAME UNKNOWN), SAYING: "Islamic State took our girls, exchanged them with others, sold them, gave them as gifts to each other. They treated us like cattle, they took everything from us. We had around 48 children with us (when we were captured) where are they now? I don't know. Two of my cousins were also with me, Aaron and Germin, but where were they taken, I don't know." ODETTE'S FACE WITH TEARS IN HER EYES VARIOUS OF FREED CAPTIVES SITTING VARIOUS OF FREED CAPTIVE SITTING WITH CHILD ON HER LAP (SOUNDBITE) (Arabic) FREED FEMALE CAPTIVE, ODETTE (SURNAME UNKNOWN), SAYING: "Islamic State referred to us as 'the captives' and even the girls were captives, we were in prison." VARIOUS OF FREED CAPTIVES SITTING MORE OF FREED CAPTIVE HOLDING CHILD ON LAP FACE OF CHILD SITTING ON WOMAN'S LAP MORE OF FREED CAPTIVES SITTING
- Embargoed: 9th November 2016 09:04
- Keywords: Migrants Libya Islamic State Europe
- Location: MISRATA, LIBYA
- City: MISRATA, LIBYA
- Country: Libya
- Topics: Asylum/Immigration/Refugees,Government/Politics
- Reuters ID: LVA00155I6B7R
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text: Libyan pro-government forces loyal to the United Nations-backed government fighting Islamic State in Sirte, freed another group of captives from Islamic State control. The exact date of freeing the captives remains unclear.
The group of freed captives included 11 Eritrean, three Nigerian women and an unknown number of children.
On Saturday (October 22) a spokesman for the Libyan forces said a group of 13 captives - 11 Eritreans, a Turk and an Egyptian were freed and a day earlier five other foreign nationals were freed by the pro-government forces in Sirte.
The female migrants most recently freed, were part of a group of families captured by the Islamic State after entering the Libyan desert via Sudan a year ago.
One freed captive, Odette, speaking to reporters on Tuesday (October 24) in Misrata where the group was taken after their release, talked about her captivity.
"Islamic State took our girls, exchanged them with others, sold them, gave them as gifts to one another. They treated us like cattle, they took everything from us," she said.
After a six-month campaign of street-by-street fighting backed by U.S. air strikes, Libyan forces have taken back most of Sirte, where Islamic State is holding out with snipers, boobytraps and car bombs. The city fell to Islamic State more than a year ago after militants expanded their territory and took advantage of infighting that emerged among Libya's rival factions following the 2011 fall of Muammar Gaddafi. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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