Authorities in Libya have discovered nearly 50 bodies in two mass graves in the southeastern desert city of Kufra, the latest grim reminder of the dangers facing migrants and refugees seeking passage to Europe through the North African nation.
The security directorate announced Sunday that a mass grave found Friday on a farm contained 19 bodies, which have been taken for autopsy.
Mohamed al-Fadeil, head of the security chamber in Kufra, said a second mass grave with at least 30 bodies was uncovered after authorities raided a migrant detention center. Survivors indicated that nearly 70 people were buried there, and officials continue searching the area.
The Libyan charity Al-Abreen, which assists migrants and refugees, reported that some victims had been shot before burial. Libya, a key transit hub for migrants from Africa and the Middle East, has seen similar mass graves in the past. In 2023, authorities unearthed at least 65 bodies in the Shuayrif region, south of Tripoli.
For over a decade, Libya’s political instability has fueled human trafficking. Smugglers exploit porous borders with Chad, Niger, Sudan, Egypt, Algeria, and Tunisia, moving migrants across the country in often brutal conditions.
Rights groups and UN agencies have documented systematic abuse of migrants in Libya, including forced labor, torture, sexual violence, and extortion. Many migrants are detained in government-run centers, where they suffer severe mistreatment, including beatings and starvation, as traffickers demand ransom from their families.
Those who attempt to cross the Mediterranean and are intercepted at sea are often sent back to Libya, where they face further abuse.
Since the NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has been mired in conflict. Rival governments in the east and west, backed by armed militias and foreign powers, have struggled for control, allowing trafficking networks to thrive.
As authorities continue investigating the mass graves, the discovery underscores the persistent dangers migrants face in Libya and the urgent need for international intervention.
