In a former stronghold of the IS group, unidentified bodies have been found by Libyan authorities.
On Monday, a Libyan government agency reported the discovery of an unmarked burial site in Sirte – a city on the coast that was previously under Islamic State control. The grave contained two dozen unknown corpses.
In the neighborhood of al-Kambo in Sirte, around 450 kilometers (300 miles) east of Tripoli, the team from The National Authority for Searching and Identifying Missing People retrieved 17 out of the total 24 corpses discovered beneath demolished structures.
No information was given regarding the possible timeframe of the mass grave’s formation. Yet, IS maintained a stronghold in Sirte City for numerous years until U.S.-supported troops ousted them from western Libya in December 2016. Following the overthrow of Moammar Gadhafi’s four-decade leadership in 2011, IS capitalized on unrest throughout Libya.
On Monday, the Libyan authority reported that DNA samples were collected by workers from the forensic medicine department for testing on 59 unidentifiable bodies. It is uncertain if this figure encompasses the two dozen found in Sirte.
The authority’s posted photos exhibited remnants and bones interred in the soil, a seemingly diminutive cadaver enveloped in white cloth, while other skeletal remains were scrutinized and tagged at the forensic department.
After being examined, the bodies were moved to a cemetery in Sirte.
Libya, a nation that has witnessed political unrest and intense clashes between various armed factions, has unearthed mass graves over the last few years. The UN migration agency raised an alarm in March after coming across one such grave situated in western Libya; it contained at minimum 65 bodies of migrants.
Despite its dangers, Libya serves as a crucial pathway for migrants from various African regions attempting to reach Europe via the Mediterranean Sea. These individuals pay exorbitant fees to board cramped and ill-equipped vessels before embarking on perilous voyages across treacherous waters.
