Two mass graves of nearly 50 migrants discovered in Libya

Recently, Libyan authorities discovered nearly 50 bodies of migrants and refugees from two mass graves in the desert of this North African country.

Mass grave of migrants found in Libya. (Source: Getty)

It is the latest tragedy involving migrants trying to reach Europe through the troubled North African country.

The first mass grave with 19 bodies was found at a farm in the southeastern Libyan city of Kufra. Authorities have sent the bodies for autopsies.

Security forces posted images on Facebook showing police and medical staff digging through the sand and collecting bodies wrapped in blankets.

Another mass grave with at least 30 bodies was found in Kufra after a raid on a human trafficking centre in the area. Survivors said nearly 70 people were buried in the grave. Authorities are still searching the area.

This is not the first time mass graves of migrants have been found in Libya. Last year, authorities unearthed the bodies of at least 65 migrants in the Shuayrif area, 350km south of the capital Tripoli.

Libya is a major transit point for migrants from Africa and the Middle East trying to reach Europe. The country descended into chaos after the overthrow of Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. The oil-rich country has been ruled for most of the past decade by rival governments in eastern and western Libya, each backed by a mix of militias and foreign governments.

Taking advantage of more than a decade of instability in Libya, human traffickers have been bringing migrants across the country's borders with six countries including Chad, Niger, Sudan, Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia.

Once on shore, traffickers cram migrants into poorly equipped rubber boats and other vessels for the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean.

For years, human rights groups and United Nations agencies have documented systematic abuses against migrants in Libya, including forced labor, beatings, rape and torture. The abuses are often accompanied by extortion of money from families before migrants are allowed to leave Libya.

Those intercepted and returned to Libya, including women and children, were held in detention centres where they were also mistreated, according to human rights groups and UN experts.

Source: https://baoquocte.vn/phat-hien-hai-ngoi-mo-tap-the-cua-gan-50-nguoi-di-cu-o-libya-303768.html