TUNIS: Libyan authorities have discovered a mass grave containing the bodies of 28 sub-Saharan migrants in the southeastern district of Kufra, near a site where they were allegedly detained and tortured, the attorney general’s office said on Sunday.

It said the grave was found after a raid on a human trafficking site, where authorities freed 76 sub-Saharan migrants who had been detained and tortured. Reports said the operation took place on Saturday.

The raid targeted “a gang whose members deliberately deprived illegal immigrants of their freedom, tortured them and subjected them to cruel, humiliating and inhumane treatment,” the office said in a statement.

The bodies had been “buried in the vicinity of the place of detention” and three people had been arrested, “one Libyan and two foreigners”, it added. Photos posted along with the statement on social media showed emaciated migrants with scars on their faces, limbs and backs.

Libya has struggled to recover from the chaos that followed the 2011 Nato-backed uprising that overthrew longtime dictator Moamer Qadhafi. It remains split between the United Nations-recognised government of Dbeibah and a rival authority in the east backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar. Smugglers and human traffickers have taken advantage of the instability since.

Libya has long been criticised over the treatment of migrants and refugees, with accusations from rights groups ranging from extortion to slavery.

Located around 300 kilometres (186 miles) from Italy, it is a key departure point for migrants, primarily from sub-Saharan African countries, who risk perilous Mediterranean Sea journeys to seek better lives in Europe.

Last month, authorities arrested two people accused of torturing and detaining 263 irregular migrants to extort ransoms in El Wahat, eastern Libya.

The prosecution said at the time the migrants had been detained to “force their families to pay $17,000 in exchange for the release of Somali migrants and to pay $10,000 in exchange for the release of Eritrean migrants”.

Published in Dawn, February 10th, 2025