violence. Libyan Coast Guard staff have apparently also seized boats and engines, and then sold them onwards. A number of migrants interviewed by UNSMIL who were intercepted at sea by armed men believed to be members of the Libyan Coast Guard, said that some were in military camouflage uniforms and others were in civilian clothes. The migrants were brought back to shore and made to queue, sometimes for many hours without adequate shelter. Several migrants recounted being beaten with sticks or gun butts, and robbed of their belongings, usually mobile phones and money. A 16-year-old boy from Eritrea told UNSMIL staff that in Sabrata he secured passage on a boat with others, including women and girls. A few hours after setting out to sea, a boat carrying armed men in military uniforms intercepted them. The armed men searched the migrants and confiscated their money and other belongings. The migrants were returned to the shore, and after disembarking, they were beaten by the men with metal bars. The men then took the migrants to the DCIM detention centre in Al-Zawiya where DCIM guards beat them again. A 17-year-old boy from Guinea explained that his first trip in a rubber boat was in March 2016 with approximately 125 other passengers. The boy said they were intercepted by a boat that he believed to be from the Libyan Coast Guard. He described five men in camouflage uniforms shooting at the migrants randomly. At least three migrants were shot dead and several others were injured. Those who survived were then taken to a DCIM detention centre in Al-Zawiya. In another case, a 14-year-old girl from Eritrea travelled to Libya with her aunt in October 2015. In her first attempt to reach Italy, men believed to be members of the Libyan Coast Guard intercepted the boat she was travelling in. Those on board were beaten upon disembarkation. One man presumed to be the captain was shot in the neck and died. The survivors were then taken to a DCIM detention centre in Al-Zawiya. On 17 August 2016, forces allegedly belonging to the Coast Guard attacked a boat 24 nautical miles off the Libyan coast. The boat, operated by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF), rescues migrants in international waters. According to MSF,55 a group of armed men in an unidentified speedboat fired shots towards the window of the bridge and boarded the boat for less than one hour before leaving, while the crew locked itself in a safe room. A spokesperson for the Libyan Navy (which oversees the Coast Guard) later reportedly admitted intercepting the boat, but said that they fired warning shots in the air and denied boarding it.56 On 21 October 2016, according to the German non-governmental organization Sea Watch,57 men 55 See Central Mediterranean: MSF condemns attack on rescue vessel, Press Release, 25 August 2016, http://www.msf.org/en/article/central-mediterranean-msf-condemns-attack-rescue-vessel 56 See Libya navy thought migrant rescuers were smugglers, fired warning shots: spokesman, Reuters, 30 August 2016, www.reuters.com/article/us-libya-security-migrants-idUSKCN1152Q6 57 See Breaking News: Libyan Coast Guard attack on Sea-Watch rescue operation causes multiple dead, Press Release, 21 October 2016, Sea Watch, http://sea-watch.org/en/breaking-news-libyan-coast-guard-attack-on-seawatch-rescue-operation-causes-multiple-dead/ 20