Libya's internationally recognised government on Thursday demanded urgent answers after Paris conceded French missiles were found at a base used by strongman Khalifa Haftar whose forces are fighting to take over the capital Tripoli.

They are trapped in squalid detention centers on Libya's front lines. They wash up on the banks of the Rio Grande. They sink without a trace — in the Mediterranean, in the Pacific or in waterways they can't even name. A handful fall out of airplanes' landing gear.

As their choices narrow on land and at sea, migrants are often seen as a political headache in the countries they hope to reach and ignored in the countries they flee. Most live in limbo, but recent tragedies have focused attention on the risks they face and the political constraints at the root of them.

International condemnation mounted on Wednesday after more than 40 migrants were killed in an air strike on a detention centre in Libya that the U.N. said could constitute a war crime.

Six Turkish sailors held by forces led by Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar have been freed, a Turkish foreign ministry official said on Monday.

Strongman Khalifa Haftar has threatened to attack Turkish interests in Libya after suffering a serious setback in his push to take the capital Tripoli, accusing Ankara of backing his rivals. 

Anti-Haftar forces supporting Libya's internationally recognised government announced Wednesday they had retaken the strategic town of Gharyan in a surprise attack, seizing the main supply base for Haftar's months-long offensive.

UN envoy Ghassan Salame has bitterly denounced the conflict in Libya saying it is "committing suicide" and plundering its oil wealth to pay for the war.

After years of assassinations, bombings and militia firefights, Libya's eastern city of Benghazi finally feels safe again — but security has come at a heavy cost.

Uniformed police are out at major intersections, cafes and restaurants stay open late into the night, and local groups hold art exhibitions and festivals. But the city center lies in ruins, thousands remain displaced, and forces loyal to commander Khalifa Hifter, who now controls eastern Libya, have cracked down on dissent.

Peering through the gate of a home in the western suburbs of Libya's war-torn capital, seven-year-old Chehab shyly looked on as children streamed down the nearby street.

Peering through the gate of a home in the western suburbs of Libya's war-torn capital, seven-year-old Chehab shyly looked on as children streamed down the nearby street.

The battle for Tripoli between rival Libyan forces both championing the fight against "terrorism" has created a security vacuum, allowing the Islamic State group a chance to re-emerge, analysts warn.

Libya expert Emad Badi says the fighting has given IS "the opportunity to reorganise, recruit and strike alliances with other groups (and organise attacks) to show they are still around".