Bodies of migrants restored to Libya, the authorities say

The bodies of at least 28 migrants have been restored from a mass grave in a desert in Southeast Libya, said the country’s General Prosecutor.

The grave was discovered north of a suitcase, just days after another mass grave was found in the same city with 19 bodies on a farm.

The officials found the most tomb after an attack on a trafficking site, where the authorities released 76 migrants who were detained and tortured, the prosecutor’s office published on Facebook.

One Libyan and two foreigners were arrested, he added.

“There was a gang whose members deliberately deprived illegal migrants of their freedom, tortured them and subjected them to cruel, humiliating and inhuman treatments,” the statement said.

Images shared online – which the BBC has not checked independently – according to police and volunteers who dig into the sand before placing corpses in black bags.

Demand in a suitcase – more than 1700 kilometers (1.056 miles) from the capital of Libya Tripoli – continues.

The Prosecutor General says the restored bodies were taken for autopsy, with investigators suspeating links to smuggling networks. Authorities document the testimonies of the survivors.

Last year, a A mass grave containing the bodies of at least 65 migrants was found in the southwestern part of Libya. The International Migration Organization (IOM) described it as “deeply shocking” at that time.

Following the overthrow of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the country has become a key transit route for migrants, rising dangerous deserts and Mediterranean marine transitions to reach Europe.

UNICEF said That in 2024 the number of people who died or disappeared in the Mediterranean, trying to reach Europe exceeded 2200.