Bodies of five migrants recovered in Libyan desert, says local aid groups

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CAIRO (AP) — The decomposed bodies of five suspected migrants have been recovered in eastern Libya, local aid groups said.

Recovery crews worked with local authorities to recover the remains which were located around 550 kilometers (341 miles) south of Tobruk, in an area called the Great Sand Sea.

Libya, which shares borders with six nations and has a long coastline along the Mediterranean, has been a main transit point for migrants trying to reach Europe who are fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East. Most have to embark on dangerous trips through land and sea.

The recovered remains were taken to Tobruk, according to the Red Crescent. It said Wednesday that one of the “tragedies that embody the grave dangers faced by migrants traveling through the desert, the so-called ‘death journey’”

Abreen, a local aid group that tracks migrant deaths in Libya, said in a statement that the remains were likely to belong to Sudanese migrants. The group posted photos of the recovery operation, including one that showed the clothing of a decomposed body.

In May, at least seven Sudanese migrants died after a vehicle carrying 34 people broke down in the Libyan desert after crossing the border from Chad, said Ebrahim Belhassan, director of the Kufra Ambulance and Emergency Services. They were discovered in the sand dunes after 11 days, having run out of food and water, he said.

The International Organization for Migration estimates around 787,000 migrants and refugees from various nationalities were living in Libya as of 2024.