Child Refugees Abused in UK-Funded Libya Camps – Reports

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - A network of 26 refugee camps partly funded by the UK government has been holding around a thousand minors for months with little food or clothing, The Guardian newspaper reports.

Teenagers who spoke to The Guardian complained of surviving on a small portion of pasta a day, being regularly beaten, tortured and locked up by guards. A young detainee attempted to take his own life this week, they said.

READ MORE: Libyan Prime Minister Slams Europe for 'Hypocrisy' on Migrant Issue — Reports

The UK government alone spent $12.8 million last year on Libyan detention centres and other initiatives to this effect, the outlet said, after thousands of refugees from conflict zones in Africa and beyond set out across the Mediterranean in the hope of reaching well-off EU countries.

The camps – home to 5,400 migrants, according to UN figures cited by the publication – are reported to be part of the "hostile environment" policy aimed to discourage them from going to Europe.