6.6. Abuses by groups pledging allegiance to ISIL UNSMIL has received reports that groups pledging allegiance to the so-called Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) have also been involved in the abduction and abuse of migrants in Libya. In November 2016, UNSMIL staff met with 20 Eritrean women and girls who were smuggled into Libya as part of two groups of migrants in June and August 2015. They said that during their journey, armed men stopped one group in Sirte and the other in Nofliya. In both cases, the armed men separated the women and girls from the men. The fate of the men is unknown. One group of women and girls was taken from Sirte to Hrawa and the other from Nofliya to Sirte. During the next three to five months, they were taught about Islam, forced to convert from Christianity, and were then handed over to ISIL fighters. The women and girls said that in the course of the following 12 months, they were repeatedly raped. When they sought to resist they were severely beaten, tied up, and raped again. Those that tried to escape were also beaten and denied food and/or water for periods of up to two days. Several times, they were also handed or “lent” to other men who raped them or forced them to do household chores. Some were provided with contraceptives, upon their request. In September and October 2016, the women and girls managed to escape and were taken to Misrata by the AlBunian al-Marsus force which has been fighting groups pledging allegiance to ISIL in Sirte. UNSMIL staff visited the women and girls where they were being held in Al-Jawiyyah prison in Misrata pending investigation. They wished to apply for asylum. One of the survivors, a 16-yearold girl, explained that she was pregnant as a result of having been raped by ISIL fighters and was seeking an abortion. In November 2016 in Al-Jawiyah prison, UNSMIL staff also spoke to three women from Nigeria and seven women from the Philippines, who recounted having also escaped from Sirte after having been held captive there by members of ISIL. The three Nigerians said they had been abused during their captivity, including by being forced into marriage with some of the ISIL fighters. As in the aforementioned case of the women and girls from Eritrea, the Libyan authorities had still to decide their legal status at the time of the UNSMIL visit. 23