Libyan security authorities began extensive investigations on Tuesday after discovering a mass grave containing 65 bodies of illegal migrants, buried in a valley in the Shoirf area located in southwestern Libya. This investigation aims to determine the cause of death and to identify the deceased. The Criminal Investigation Agency announced in a statement that a specialized team went to the site, examined all the bodies and remains, and took DNA samples before reburial in a designated grave site.
The agency also published tragic images and videos documenting the process of exhuming the victims' remains, their examination, and the reburial in a desolate desert area. The reasons and methods of death for these migrants remain unknown, whether they died in the desert from thirst, hunger, and exhaustion due to the negligence of traffickers, or were executed by human trafficking gangs and buried in the sands.
Irregular migrants, mostly from Sub-Saharan Africa, continue to flock to Libya in search of migration to Europe via the sea from Libyan shores. However, they often face numerous difficulties, violations, violence, exploitation, and torture during their journey. According to recent statistics from the International Organization for Migration, 95 migrants have died since the beginning of the year until March 16, while 228 others are reported missing while attempting to reach Italy via Libya.
