Bodies of migrants in Libya mass graves had gunshot wounds, UN says

According to the United Nations, some of the bodies of migrants and refugees that have recently been found in mass graves in Libya have been found with gunshot wounds.

The two mass graves were discovered by authorities in the North African nation on Monday, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), who said hundreds of people had been saved from people traffickers.

According to the IOM, 19 bodies were discovered in Jakharrah, located around 250 miles (400km) south of Benghazi. As many as 70 bodies could be found in a mass grave in the desert region of southeast Kufra, which contains at least 30 more.

While gunshot wounds were discovered on some bodies, confirming previous reports from Al-Abreen, a charity helping refugees in the country, the exact circumstances of the deaths were unknown, said the UN agency.

“Far too many migrants along these journeys endure severe exploitation, violence and abuse, underscoring the need to prioritise human rights and protect those at risk”, Nicoletta Giordano, the IOM’s chief of mission for Libya, said in a statement.

Last year, authorities unearthed the&nbsp, bodies of at least 65 migrants&nbsp, in the Shuayrif region, south of the capital Tripoli.

Human traffickers have benefitted from more than a decade of instability, smuggling migrants and refugees across the country’s borders with six nations – Chad, Niger, Sudan, Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia.

Years of UN and human rights organizations have documented widespread immigration abuse in Libya.

On Monday, the IOM urged the Libyan authorities to ensure “a dignified recovery, identification, and transfer of the remains of the deceased migrants while notifying and assisting their families”.

More than 22% of the 965 reported deaths and disappearances of migrants and refugees in Libya last year were on land-based routes, according to the agency.

“This highlights the often-overlooked risks migrants face on land routes, where fatalities frequently go underreported”, the IOM said.

Libya has experienced more than a decade of instability after it fell into chaos in 2011 as a result of a NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Rival governments and opposing armed groups have been accused of violating immigration due to the political unrest.

“Migrants and asylum seekers, including children, arbitrarily detained in facilities controlled by armed groups affiliated with both governments or smugglers and traffickers, suffered inhumane conditions, torture, forced labor, and sexual assault”, Human Rights Watch said in a recent report on Libya.