[PJ] WASHINGTON -- Deputy Secretary of State John Sullivan told Congress last week that he believes there is a tie between terror groups' financing and the slave trade that's popped up in parts of Libya in which smugglers end up selling African migrants trying to make it to Europe."The reports of what's happening in those camps where migrants, refugees are being abused, exploited and slave trade -- shocking," Sullivan told the House Foreign Affairs Committee during a hearing on counterterrorism efforts in Africa. "It's happening in areas of Libya that are largely ungoverned, which is why we need -- we're working hard, along with the UN, for a political solution to the situation to get more control over those areas."
"But in those ungoverned areas where ISIS and other terrorist organizations are able to operate, they make money by engaging in activities like that," he added.
Pressed on which terrorist groups are involved in the slave trade, Sullivan replied, "I would have to get back to you for a specific answer. I can speculate." He said difficulty in being able to access areas where the camps are located "presents a real problem for us in trying to directly address the problem."
A CNN investigation released last month revealed slave markets in which human beings were being auctioned for a few hundred bucks. "If you look at most of the people here, if you check your bodies, you see the marks. They are beaten, mutilated," said a Nigerian migrant who was sold several times by smugglers. The Libyan government has said it's investigating, while putting some blame on the migrants' countries of origin and their destination countries in Europe.