Shocking video footage has emerged claiming to show people being SOLD at auction in Libya slave markets.

Conducted in Arabic, the migrants were referred to as "merchandise" - as they were 'sold off for as little as $400 (£300) each'.

One man admitted to CNN: “Sure, I was sold” - while others claimed they were beaten by their “owners” as they put to work.

The Libyan government has announced it is urgently investigating claims that the migrants who cannot afford to pay traffickers for the boat journeys to Europe are being sold at auction when camps become full.

The mobile phone footage of one such 'auction' obtained by CNN has prompted an international outcry - with protests erupting in Europe, the US and Africa.

The news network revealed how - in scenes reminiscent of the 19th century - auctioneers were advertising a group of West African migrants as “big strong boys for farm work".

In the original footage CNN obtained, two young men can be seen stood in the dark as an 'auctioneer shouts out their prices'.

The men in the footage are allegedly being sold for money (
Image:
CNN)

CNN says it has worked for the last few weeks to verify the footage before releasing it - with their reporters having gained access to one of the auctions themselves.

According to the UN International Organization for Migration (IOM), it's been known for some time that young African men bound for Europe are frequently caught in trafficking networks and sold for labour in Libya.

It reports many migrants are detained, tortured, and even killed.

CNN said it has verified the shocking footage (
Image:
CNN)

However the video - which other media organisations have not been able to verify - is thought to be the first footage of people being sold, according to Mary Fitzgerald, an independent researcher on Libya.

Protesters gathered outside the Libyan embassies in Paris and in African capitals including Bamako, Mali and Conakry,
Guinea over the weekend and on Monday, according to local news reports.

A protest is planned in London later this week - and singers and football stars have added their voices.

Migrants rescued from capsized boats trying to reach Europe have told of horrendous treatment in camps (file photo) (
Image:
Getty Images Europe)

MirrorOnline previously reported how Manchester United's Paul Pogba, who is of Guinean descent, threw up his hands in a protest symbol after scoring a goal on Saturday - and later on posted a message for 'those suffering slavery in Libya' on Instagram.

"What are you waiting for to react and intervene???" wrote Ivorian reggae artist Alpha Blondy in a Facebook post addressed to African leaders.

Many Libyans used the hashtag LibyansAgainstSlavery on Facebook and Twitter, expressing horror and disapproval.

"Those of us who work in Libya have known about this for some time, but the video really brought it to the world's
attention," said Fitzgerald, an author of a book about Libya.

Migrants desperate to reach Europe have paid traffickers - if they can afford it (file photo) (
Image:
AFP)

The president of the U.N. General Assembly said on Twitter he was "appalled" by the reports of slave auctions, and the
African Union called for an immediate end to the practice.

Six years after the fall of Muammar Gaddafi, Libya is still a lawless state where armed groups compete for land and
resources and people-smuggling networks operate with impunity.

"People are rightfully outraged, but don't hold your breath that anything real is going to happen," Human Rights Watch (HRW) researcher Hanan Salah told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

At least 20,000 migrants are being detained in Libya, which is the main gateway for Africans to reach Europe, according to the IOM.