The International Criminal Court (ICC) is considering whether to investigate migrant-related crimes in Libya, which has become a "marketplace" for human trafficking, the chief prosecutor said Monday. 

Fatou Bensouda told the UN Security Council that her office was collecting evidence of crimes allegedly committed against migrants attempting to transit through Libya. Thousands of vulnerable migrants, including women and children, are being held in detention centers across Libya where "crimes, including killings, rapes and torture, are alleged to be commonplace," she said. 

"I’m similarly dismayed by credible accounts that Libya has become a marketplace for the trafficking of human beings,” she said, adding that the ICC prosecution is "carefully examining the feasibility of opening an investigation into migrant-related crimes in Libya" if these cases fall under the court's jurisdiction.

Libya has been in turmoil since the 2011 fall of Moamer Kadhafi, its territory controlled by two rival governments backed by militias, some of whom have pledged allegiance to militant group ISIL. 

The chaos has been a boon for migrant smugglers and human traffickers, who have turned Libya's coast into a key departure point to Europe.

The number of people leaving Libya to reach Europe is up nearly 50 percent this year compared with the opening months of 2016. On Monday, UN agencies reported that 11 migrants died and nearly 200 were missing after two boats sank off the coast of Libya. 

Bensouda said her office was closely following the offensive by forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar in Benghazi after a video emerged appearing to show the Libyan National Army committing serious crimes such as summary executions of detainees. The prosecutor also urged Libyan authorities to arrest former security chief Al-Tuhamy Mohamed Khaled, who she said is currently residing in Libya and is wanted for war crimes trial at the ICC. A warrant for Khaled's arrest was unsealed in late April.

(With inputs from AFP)