Tripoli, November 24 (RHC)-- At least 40 people have been detained during a sweep on human trafficking across West Africa, after a video surfaced showing refugees apparently being sold at an auction in Libya. 

In a statement, Interpol said those arrested face prosecution for offences including human trafficking, forced labor and child exploitation.  "They are accused of forcing victims to engage in activities ranging from begging to prostitution, with little to no regard for working conditions or human life," the statement read. 

Interpol also noted that some 500 people, including 236 minors, had been rescued in simultaneous operations across Chad, Mali, Mauritania, Niger and Senegal.  "The results of this operation underline the challenge faced by law enforcement and all stakeholders in addressing human trafficking in the Sahel region," the operation's coordinator Innocentia Apovo said. 

The Interpol-led action comes amid global outcry sparked by footage of Africans being sold as slaves in Libya.  CNN last week aired footage of a live auction in Libya where Black men were being sold for as little as $400 to North African buyers as farmhands. 

UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres has recently said that the reported auctions of African refugees in Libya as slaves amounts to “crimes against humanity.”  The UN chief calls for probe into the reported sales of refugees in Libya.