Investigators in Libya have uncovered the bodies of 28 migrants in a mass grave near a detention center in the desert region of southern Libya, the Libyan Attorney General’s Office revealed in a statement on Sunday.
The grave was found north of Kufra, a city known as a transit point for migrants traveling through the harsh desert terrain.
Security forces rescued 76 migrants from the facility, where they had been held captive by a gang accused of “depriving illegal migrants of their liberty, torturing them, and subjecting them to cruel, degrading, and inhuman treatment.”
Kufra lies in a remote desert area near the borders of Egypt and Sudan.
The volatile security situation in Libya, worsened by years of civil conflict, has made the region a hub for armed groups and criminal networks involved in human trafficking.
Some of these groups operate with ties to state agencies, exploiting migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers.
Reports of severe human rights abuses in these trafficking networks are frequent, including unlawful killings, forced labor, forced recruitment, and sexual exploitation.
