The International Organization for Migration (IOM) expressed its shock over the discovery of at least 65 bodies of irregular immigrants in a mass grave in southwestern Libya.
The organization said in a statement on Friday that the circumstances of the migrants’ deaths and their nationalities are still unknown, suggesting that they died during the process of smuggling them across the desert.
In this regard, a spokesman for the IOM explained, “The price of insufficient procedures is evident in the increasing human deaths and the disturbing conditions in which migrants find themselves,” pointing out that “every report of a missing migrant or loss of life represents a grieving family searching for answers about their loved ones.
The IOM called on the Libyan authorities to conduct an investigation into these deaths and to cooperate with United Nations agencies to ensure that the dignity of the deceased migrants is restored, their identity is properly determined, and their remains are delivered to their families.
According to the organization, at least 3,129 deaths and disappearances were recorded in 2023 along the Mediterranean route, which it described as “the deadliest migration route.”
