At least 65 migrants' bodies have been discovered in a mass grave in southwest Libya, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on social media platform X on March 22. IOM said in a statement the circumstances of the migrants' death and nationalities was unknown "but it is believed that they died in the process of being smuggled through the desert."
Libya has turned into a transit route for migrants fleeing conflict and poverty to Europe across the Mediterranean following the toppling of Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011.
According to the IOM, at least 3,129 deaths and disappearances of migrants were recorded in 2023 along the Mediterranean route, which it described as "the deadliest migratory route." The organization has called on all governments and authorities along the route "to enhance regional cooperation to ensure the safety and protection of migrants."
Read more here.
