UNITED NATIONS: A total of 93 bodies have now been recovered from two mass graves found in Libya during raids on human trafficking networks, the United Nations said on Wednesday.

One mass grave was found on Feb 7 on a farm in Jakharrah in northeastern Libya, and a day later another mass grave was discovered in Kufra in the southeast, with a total of 93 bodies found, the UN under secretary general for African affairs, Rosemary DiCarlo, said during a Security Council meeting. She did not give a breakdown of how many bodies were found at each site.

Ten days ago Libyan authorities reported the discovery of 28 bodies of sub-Saharan migrants in the mass grave in Kufra near a site where they were allegedly detained and tortured.

These authorities said the grave was found after a raid on that human trafficking site, where authorities freed 76 sub-Saharan migrants.

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 Libyan attorney general’s office said on Feb 9.

The United Nations’ International Organisation for Migration then reported the second mass grave in Jakharra. “The alarming and tragic discovery of mass graves following raids on human trafficking sites highlights the severe danger faced by migrants in Libya,” said DiCarlo.

Libya, a key transit country for migrants attempting to reach Europe, has struggled to recover from the chaos that followed the 2011 Nato-backed uprising that overthrew longtime dictator Moamer Qadhafi.

It remains split between a United Nations-recognised government and a rival authority in the east backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar. Smugglers and human traffickers have taken advantage of the instability since.

Published in Dawn, February 20th, 2025