File photo: Migrants crammed in a boat enroute Europe
Libyan security authorities have recovered the bodies of at least six migrants in a remote desert area in the southeast of the country after their vehicle broke down during a hazardous journey, the Alwahat Security Directorate confirmed in a statement on Tuesday.
The bodies were discovered in a desert region roughly 200 kilometers (124 miles) northwest of the town of Jalu.
According to the Directorate, two victims were found inside the stranded vehicle. Search teams located three additional bodies approximately four kilometers (2.5 miles) away, while a sixth body was discovered about 10 kilometers (six miles) from the scene after security forces tracked their footprints across the sand.
Official documents retrieved from the scene indicate that the vehicle’s owner was a Chadian national.
A total of 19 migrants connected to the incident were successfully rescued on Sunday, though officials have not specified the exact location of their recovery.
A brother of the vehicle’s owner, who was among those saved, revealed that a second vehicle traveling with them took the remaining fuel from the disabled transport and drove off, leaving the group stranded.
Photographs released by the Alwahat Security Directorate depict security personnel, working alongside members of the Fifth Battalion of the 129th Brigade, recovering the remains in the open desert and sealing them in protective transport bags.
Libya remains a primary transit hub for migrants fleeing poverty, instability, and conflict across Africa, attempting the perilous passage through the Sahara and across the Mediterranean to reach Europe, a route that has expanded significantly since the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that ousted Muammar Gaddafi.
