TRIPOLI, Nov. 21 (Xinhua) -- Speaker of Libya's eastern-based House of Representatives, or parliament, Agila Saleh, on Tuesday condemned slave trade in western Libya, ordering investigation into the incident.
"We strongly condemn the immoral acts shown in a media report on illegal immigrants near the capital Tripoli," Saleh said in a statement.
"We stress that these acts, which are against human rights and dignity and our religion, do not represent Libya of the Libyan people, and do not reflect the relationship between Libyans and their African brothers," the statement added.
"We stress the depth of our relations with our brothers in our African continent. We highly value and appreciate their support to Libya and the Libyan people in this difficult time. We stress our rejection to any acts that violate human rights and dignity," according to the statement.
Saleh said that the parliament ordered the Defense and National Security Committee to open an investigation into the incident with the armed forces.
CNN published a report recently of auctions in different parts of Libya, where stranded African migrants were sold as slaves for as little as 400 U.S. dollars.
The eastern-based army on Monday accused the UN-backed government of migrant slave trade.
Libya is politically divided between eastern and western authorities, despite signing a UN-sponsored peace agreement signed by the country's political parties.
Libya is a major departure point for illegal migrants, mostly Africans, wanting to cross the Mediterranean towards European shores, due to the insecurity and chaos in the country. Migrants who are rescued by the Libyan navy are detained in housing centers with poor living conditions. Enditem
