Mass grave of 65 people discovered in southwest Libya, says UN agency; probe launched

The United Nations migration agency said on Friday (Mar 22) that a mass grave containing at least 65 bodies was discovered in southwest Libya.

The mass grave was discovered by Libyan security forces, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said. In a statement, the IOM said it was profoundly shocked and alarmed, adding that the circumstances of the deaths remained unknown.

“…but it is believed that they died in the process of being smuggled through the desert,” the statement added. Libya has launched an investigation into the deaths, a report by the news agency AFP said.

In its statement, the IOM also called on Libyan authorities to ensure a dignified recovery, identification and transfer of the remains of the deceased migrants, and notify their families.

Sixty migrants feared drowned crossing Mediterranean from Libya

The UN agency further said that these deaths showed “the urgent need to address the challenges of irregular migration including through a coordinated response to the smuggling of migrants and trafficking in persons.”

“Without regular pathways that provide opportunities for legal migration, such tragedies will continue to be a feature along this route,” it added.

In an unverified message on Facebook, the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) of the interior ministry in Tripoli said the bodies were discovered in al-Jahriya Valley in Al Shuwairf town. The CID said that after taking the DNA samples, all bodies were buried in a cemetery on instructions from the attorney general of the appeals chamber in Gharyan town.

Over a decade of violent instability since the 2011 overthrow and killing of the dictator Muammar Gaddafi in a Nato-backed uprising helped turn Libya into a fertile ground for people smugglers and traffickers, who have long been accused of abuses against migrants.

The IOM’s Missing Migrants project has said that at least 3,129 deaths and disappearances were recorded last year along the Mediterranean route to Europe.