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The bodies of at least 28 migrants have been recovered from a mass grave in a desert in south-east Libya, the country’s attorney general said.<\/p>\n
The grave was discovered north of Kufra, just days after another mass grave with 19 bodies was found on a farm in the same city.<\/p>\n
Officials found the latest grave following a raid on a human trafficking site, where authorities freed 76 migrants who had been detained and tortured, the office of the attorney general posted on Facebook.<\/p>\n
One Libyan and two foreigners have been arrested, it added.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n
“There was a gang whose members deliberately deprived illegal migrants of their freedom, tortured them and subjected them to cruel, humiliating and inhumane treatment,” the statement said.<\/p>\n
Images shared online – which the BBC has not independently verified – show police and volunteers digging in the sand before placing corpses in black bags. <\/p>\n
The search in Kufra – more than 1,700 kilometres (1,056 miles) from Libya’s capital Tripoli – is continuing. <\/p>\n
The attorney general says the bodies recovered have been taken for autopsy, with investigators suspecting links to smuggling networks. Authorities are documenting the testimonies of survivors. <\/p>\n
Last year, a mass grave containing the bodies of at least 65 migrants<\/a> was found in the south-west of Libya. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) described it as “deeply shocking” at the time.<\/p>\n Since the overthrow of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the country has become a key transit route for migrants risking dangerous desert and Mediterranean Sea crossings to reach Europe.<\/p>\n