A Nigerian migrant worker has been burnt to death by three Libyans in Tripoli, the country's capital.

This was disclosed in a statement by the U.N and Government officials on Wednesday, October 7, saying “it is the latest of a string of abuses that migrants and refugees have faced in the conflict-ravaged country”.

Three Libyans, on Tuesday, October 6, stormed a factory where African migrants were working in Tripoli's Tajoura neighbourhood, according to the Interior Ministry of the UN-backed Government.

According to the statement by the Ministry, the Libyans detained the Nigerian, poured gasoline on him and set him on fire, however, no motive for the crime was stated.

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Three other migrants suffered burns and were taken to a nearby hospital for medical attention. The alleged perpetrators, all in their 30s, were arrested and referred to prosecutors for investigation, it added.

U.N. spokesman Stephane Dujarric said: "Sometimes you run out of adjectives to describe what we see in all too many places.

"The people responsible for such a heinous attack need to be brought to justice. 

"This underscores as if we needed to underscore yet again, how unsafe Libya is for migrants, for refugees, and how much the authorities on the ground still need to do to ensure the protection of these vulnerable people."

Speaking on the ugly incident, Federico Soda, Chief in Libya for the International Organization for Migration (IOM) tweeted: “We are horrified by the killing of a Nigerian migrant worker in Tripoli, #Libya by three men yesterday. The young man was burned alive, in yet again another senseless crime against migrants in the country. Those responsible must be held to account.” 

The killing highlights one of the crises African and Arabian migrants face in Libya, being a major transit point on the route to Europe.

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In May, the family of a slain Libyan human trafficker attacked a group of migrants in the desert town of Mizdah, where no fewer than 30 migrants were killed, most of whom were from Bangladesh, according to the UN migration agency.

In July, Libyan authorities shot dead three Sudanese migrants in the western coastal town of Khoms. The migrants were reportedly trying to escape after they were intercepted by the Libyan coastguard in the Mediterranean Sea and returned to shore.

The Sudanese community is one of the top 5 nationalities of migrants in Libya, with more than 76,000 people. The majority of them (93%) entered the country through the desert, according to a report by the Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM), a body who tracks and monitors displacement and migration flows.

More than 100,000 migrants tried to cross the Mediterranean last year, with at least 1,200 dying in the attempt, according to the IOM.

The Libyan coastguard, trained by the European Union to keep migrants from reaching European shores, intercepts boats at sea and returns them to Libya.

The illegal penetration of migrants has caused them to be attacked by armed groups causing them to be kept in confined spaces with no adequate food and water, according to right groups.