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Slavery in Libya[1][2][3] has a long history and a lasting impact on the Libyan culture. It is closely connected with the wider context of slavery in North Africa and trans-Saharan slave trade.
Since ancient history, the territory of modern Libya was a transit area for the slave trade from Sub-Saharan Africa across the Sahara desert to the Mediterranean Sea. The Trans-Saharan slave trade was known from antiquity and continued until the 20th century. Slavery in Ottoman Libya was nominally prohibited in the 19th century, but the abolition laws were not enforced.
During the Italian colonial period (1912–1951) the slavery and slave trade was finally suppressed in practice. Abolition was, however, a gradual and slow process, and the institution of slavery continued long into the colonial period, particularly in the interior desert areas, where the Italian control was weak. The Trans-Saharan slave trade in the interior of Libya was still in operation as late as the 1930s.
In the 21st century, the Libyan slave trade of Africans across the Sahara continues, with open-air slave markets reported in a number of cities in Libya, including the capital city, Tripoli.[4][5][6][7]