At least 61 bodies of migrants have been recovered along Libya’s western coastline in the past two weeks, authorities said on Saturday. The Emergency Medicine and Support Centre, operating under the health ministry, reported that the remains were found between Zuwara and Ras Ijdir, near the Tunisian border.
Medics discovered three bodies in Mellitah and twelve in Zuwara, all believed to be irregular migrants who perished attempting the perilous Mediterranean crossing. Another thirty-four bodies were retrieved from beaches in Zuwara, Abu Kammash and Mellitah, according to the centre’s statement.
Officials said twelve bodies had been buried, while others were transferred to a morgue for autopsies and identification. Photographs released on the centre’s verified Facebook page showed medical teams lifting the remains from the sand and sealing them in white plastic bags.
The grim discovery follows a separate tragedy last month, when a vessel carrying Sudanese refugees caught fire off Libya’s coast, killing at least fifty people. According to the International Organization for Migration, nearly 900,000 migrants from forty-five nationalities currently live across one hundred Libyan municipalities.
Since the 2011 fall of Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising, Libya has remained a major gateway for those fleeing conflict and poverty in Africa and the Middle East. For many, its unguarded shores are both a final hope and a silent grave on the road to Europe.