Fifteen bodies, some of them charred, were found on the coast of the western Libyan town of Sabratha, the Libyan Red Crescent said on Friday (October 7th), with human rights activists claiming they are migrants illegals.
After being alerted by the local authorities to the discovery of these bodies, volunteers from the branch of the Red Crescent in Sabratha, 70 km west of the capital Tripoli, went to the scene and transported the remains to the city hospital morgue, the organization said in a statement.
The identity of the victims remains unknown
Some of the bodies, charred, were inside a burned boat and others, intact, nearby, according to the same source.
The Red Crescent did not give an indication of the identity of the victims or the cause of their death, but human rights activists claimed on social networks that they were illegal migrants.
Local media said that passengers on board the boat, mostly Africans, were killed Thursday night by gunfire following an argument between smugglers.
One of the smuggling groups involved in the dispute then set fire to the boat on Friday, according to the same sources.
Images, presented as being that of the damaged boat letting out thick black smoke, were broadcast on social networks.
It was not possible to confirm this information with the authorities immediately.
The chaos that followed the fall of Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011 made Libya a favored route for tens of thousands of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, Arab countries and South Asia, seeking to reach Europe by the Italian coasts.
These migrants are the prey of traffickers, when they do not die while attempting the perilous crossing of the Mediterranean, and Libya is regularly singled out by NGOs for the ill-treatment inflicted on them.
Since March, two governments supported by two rival camps, in western and eastern Libya, have been vying for power.
Since the beginning of the year, 14,157 migrants have been intercepted and brought back to Libya, according to a report from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) published on Monday.
At least 216 people have died attempting the crossing and 724 are missing and presumed dead, according to IOM.
