Ekeomah Atuonwu
The remains of 20 migrants who went missing in the Libyan desert near Chad have been discovered, according to the ambulance service, which showed images of them laying around a black pick-up vehicle on the sand.
The dead were discovered by a truck driver traveling across the desert on Tuesday, around 320 kilometers southwest of Kufra and 120 kilometers from the Chadian border.
“The driver got lost … and we believe the group died in the desert about 14 days ago since the last call on a mobile phone there was on June 13,” Kufra Ambulance chief Ibrahim Belhasan said by phone.
Two of the dead were Libyans, while the others were thought to be Chadian migrants crossing illegally into Libya, according to Belhasan.
Libya has become a significant transit hub for migrants attempting to reach Europe via the perilous desert and Mediterranean route. Despite the violence, its oil-based economy attracts migrants looking for jobs.
