Libya sits at the top of Africa, located south of Italy, Turkey and Greece with just the Mediterranean ocean between them. This makes the north-African nation an important stop for migrants fleeing conflict zones in other parts of Africa desperately trying to make it to Europe.

Migrants have flooded the nation in recent years, and the UN estimates there are currently between 700,000 and a million migrants taking refuge there. But for migrants who think they are at the intersection of leaving behind a life of grief and suffering for safety, they've been faced with a different, horrifying reality.

Migrants in Libya are being targeted, beaten, kidnapped and sold as slaves. This sickening reality has been made known to a large part of the Western world after disturbing footage was released as part of a CNN investigative video report showing how "big strong boys for farm work" were being auctioned off as slaves for as little as $400 each.
After receiving the mobile-recorded footage from a contact in Libya, investigative reporters from CNN traveled there to research the magnitude of the issue. They found that there are 1-2 auctions just like the one captured in the initial video every single month.

Journalists managed to attend one of these auctions just outside of the country's capital, Tripoli, and using hidden cameras, they filmed the proceedings.

It was found that the men being auctioned were all Nigerians, described as "strong" and "big", ideal for "farm work" and "digging". But rather than being acknowledged as fellow human beings, the men were simply referred to as "merchandise".

You can watch the full report here:

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The Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA), which is backed by the UN, said it hopes to address these violations against illegal immigrants. However, the GNA said in an official statement that the problem exceeded their "national capacities" and called on the help of global partners.

"[Libya] is going through difficult times which affected its own citizens as well," the statement read.

"It is, therefore, not fair to assume responsibility for the consequences of this immigration, which everyone unanimously agreed that addressing this phenomenon exceeds the national capacities.

"We affirm again that the practical solution is to address the real reasons that drive people to leave their home countries, treat them and develop final solutions for them."

People all around the world have shown solidarity in fighting to end the shocking reality of human beings being sold as slaves by raising awareness online.

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Celebrities including Diddy and Naomi Campbell have also jumped on the cause.

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That slavery is still occurring in 2017 is appalling. Absolutely heartbreaking.

A video has gone viral on social media this week, which appears to show a Border Patrol agent unjustly detaining two women, simply because they were speaking Spanish. The incident occurred in the early hours of the morning of Wednesday May 16, outside a gas station convenience store in the town of Havre, Montana, which stands near the US/Canada border. The footage has already attracted thousands of comments and provoked questions about racial profiling.

The video was captured by Ana Suda and Mimi Hernandez, who were buying some groceries together. Both of the Latina-American women spoke fluent Spanish and had been conversing amicably and civilly while waiting in line with their respective purchases. That was when a uniformed Border Patrol agent interrupted the two and requested to see their IDs. Then he decided to detain them, apparently not satisfied that the two weren't illegal immigrants. The agent asked the two women to follow him to the parking lot, and Suda became so nervous that she began filming the man in question.

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When questioned as to why they had been stopped, the agent admitted it was because he had heard them speaking Spanish. In the video, he can be heard denying any racial profiling, yet still he states: "Ma’am, the reason I asked you for your ID is because I came in here, and I saw that you guys are speaking Spanish, which is very unheard of up here ... It’s the fact that it has to do with you guys speaking Spanish in the store, in a state where it’s predominantly English-speaking." The two women were detained in the parking lot for a further 40 minutes before the agent was sufficiently satisfied to let them both go. 

In a later interview, Suda stated: "I was so embarrassed … being outside in the gas station, and everybody’s looking at you like you’re doing something wrong. I don’t think speaking Spanish is something criminal, you know? My friend, she started crying. She didn’t stop crying in the truck. And I told her, 'we are not doing anything wrong' ... It’s a nice town. I don’t think it’s a confrontational [population] here ... But now I feel like if I speak Spanish, somebody is going to say something to me. It’s different after something like this because you start thinking and thinking ... I just don’t want this to happen anymore. I want people to know they have the right to speak whatever language they want. I think that’s the most important part, to help somebody else."

As a result, Suda has announced her intention to contact the American Civil Liberties Union for legal aid, and a representative from Customs and Border Patrol has stated that the agency is reviewing the incident and will investigate any potential wrongdoing.

In recent months, the crackdown on illegal immigrants and those who assist them has increased in the USA. People who fail to go via the proper channels in order to attain legal residency in the states are being deported, even when they have young children or other family members in the country.

Recently, Perla Morales-Luna, a mother from South Carolina, was arrested in front of her children on suspicion of being part of a transnational criminal smuggling organization.

A video of the incident was uploaded to Facebook yesterday, and, at the time of writing, has garnered more than eight million views. Despite the accusations against Morales-Luna, many people are divided over whether or not the actions taken against her were justified.

In the video, Morales-Luna is physically yanked away from people who are trying to hold her back, then forced into a border patrol car while a crowd of people - including her daughters - helplessly look on. Several onlookers can be heard screaming and crying throughout the video; meanwhile, the patrol agents and plain-clothes officers continue to issue instructions to the suspect.

In another video of the incident, which has since been taken down, Morales-Luna can be heard saying, "don't touch me" as she is manhandled and pushed into the vehicle.

During the two-minute ordeal, Morales-Luna's young daughters repeatedly ask for information about what's going on.

"Mom!" one of them screams. "Where is she going?"

The officers appear to be ignoring the girls for the most part and drive off with their mother - leaving them all alone beside an intersection. At the end of the video, a man comes up to them and asks if they are alright and whether they are able to call any other members of their family.

You can watch the clip below, but - be warned - it is fairly distressing.

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In a statement, US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) explained why the woman had been detained.

"She was arrested as a result of a targeted operation on March 3, 2018, in National City for being in the country illegally," said Jackie Wasiluk, a spokesperson for CBP. "She is currently in Border Patrol custody awaiting transfer to ICE for removal proceedings."

CBP has refused to give any further information on the case - including the name of the smuggling organization that Morales-Luna was said to belong to - because it is still under investigation.

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The issue that many people have with the incident is not so much that Morales-Luna was arrested, but that she was taken from her family in such a heartless manner.

Judith Castro-Rangel, who uploaded both videos to Facebook and teaches one of the suspect's daughters, described the ordeal as "brutal".

"The brutalized, injustice that is happening in this country is sad," Castro-Rangel wrote in a Facebook post. "The subjects dressed as civilians detained Perla Morales at the head of her three daughters whom the Border Patrol left alone after brutally arresting their mother."

Opinions are obviously divided on the matter, but one thing is for sure: no child should have to watch their mother being dragged away like this. The situation could have been handled better, regardless of what the suspect has or has not done.

Five terror suspects have been shot dead after Spanish police intercepted a vehicle which was swerving into pedestrians in the town of Cambrils. This is the second attack to hit Spain in the last 24 hours. Another van atrocity took place in Barcelona yesterday evening wherein a white Fiat van drove into crowds at Las Ramblas, a popular tourist and commercial street in central Barcelona. The attack killed 13 people and at least 100 others are injured. This morning it became apparent that ISIS, who claimed responsibility for the first attack on the European country, had apparently orchestrated a complex terror plot to hit a series of targets across Catalonia. In the early hours of this morning, five people in an Audi A3 began driving into crowds in the Spanish seaside town of Cambrils before being surrounded by police. In a statement, local authorities stated that a shootout followed where police shot dead the five individuals. As of now there are no known fatalities. Six pedestrians are confirmed to have been injured, two with serious injuries. Additionally, one police officer has sustained minor injuries. Whilst the suspects' suicide belts are now considered to be fake, they were later detonated in a controlled explosion by a bomb squad. A manhunt remains underway for the driver of the vehicle which drove into both tourists and locals on Barcelona's busiest avenue yesterday. The regional police of Catalonia have stated that the driver is still on the run after fleeing the scene on foot. However, two other suspects have been taken into custody. The named suspect is Driss Oukabir, originating from Morocco. He was detained in northern Catolonia. The other suspect, who has not yet been named, is reportedly a national from the Spanish territory Melilla in the north of Morocco. He was detained in Alcanar. Senior police official, Josep Lluis Trapero has asserted that the attack on Barcelona was "clearly a terror attack intended to kill as many people as possible." Scenes around Las Ramblas were said to have been distressing. Susan McLean who was a mere 100 metres away from from the attack on Barcelona's most famous boulevard stated, “It was quite terrifying. We were right near the Plaza Catalunya and all of a sudden this horde of people ran screaming towards us." She continued: 

“Children hysterical. Very limited English. They first of all said someone had been shot. 

"We just ran into a shop. I lost my husband in the melee. He went in a different door but all the shops were shuttered.They lost people inside, they really went into lockdown mode and most of the area is still blocked off."

Whilst the British Foreign office is still trying to determine if there were any British fatalities in the attack, the Catalan regional government has confirmed that people from 24 different countries were among those that were killed or injured in the attack. One Belgian national is reported to have died. This is the second deadliest attack to hit the European country since over 190 people died in Madrid in 2004 when terrorists detonated bombs on the city's commuter trains.

Four terror suspects have been killed following a shootout with police at a beach resort just south of Barcelona. Yesterday's attacks left 13 people killed after a driver smashed down Las Ramblas, one of the busiest tourist streets in Spain. The attack forced Spain to raise their terror warning to the highest level, and this latest operation is reportedly linked to the car-attack. Gunshots were heard in the coastal town of Cambrils (70 miles south of Barcelona) in the early hours of this morning. It's being reported that the four terror suspects had explosive belts strapped to them and entered into a gun fight with police by a taxi rank. Seven innocent people and a police officer were injured in the shootout. Unconfirmed reports out of Spain say the terror suspects were attempting a Las Ramblas style attack in the coastal town when their car overturned. Police then opened fire on the suspects. It's currently unclear whether the driver from the central Barcelona is still at large. One suspect was shot and killed on the outskirts of Barcelona after speeding through a roadblock last night, and a second man was taken into police custody. More to follow.