61 migrant corpses found in western Libya in the last two weeks

Algiers.- Authorities in western Libya found 61 migrant bodies during the last two weeks that are being examined for identification, the Center for Emergency Medicine and Support reported this Saturday. At least 15 bodies were exhumed last week during an inspection operation in Zuara, near the border with Ras Ejder, while another 46 corpses were also found in various locations in the west during the last two weeks, the emergency service detailed.

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The emergency team emphasized in a note that “it will continue its work according to established inspection, exhumation, autopsy, and burial procedures” to preserve “human dignity.” Last February, Libyan authorities found mass graves with dozens of bodies of sub-Saharan migrants in Kufra, a southern city bordering Sudan. Since 2011, the date of the overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi’s regime, the Maghreb country became a massive transit territory for migrants to Europe, who mainly come from sub-Saharan African countries. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported in its latest July record a total of 849,890 immigrant residents in Libya, among a population of more than seven million inhabitants. According to data from the UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) as of October 5, 45,871 of the 51,961 people who reached Italian shores from North Africa so far this year left from Libya, being the main point of departure towards Europe on the Central Mediterranean route.