The bodies of at least 21 migrants have been found in a mass grave on a farm in eastern Libya, security sources have said, with as many as 10 others who survived captivity showing signs of of torture. It is the latest tragedy involving people seeking to reach Europe through the North African country.
The sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, said authorities raided a farm near the town of Ajdabiya after receiving a report of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa being held there.
"We found migrants – men, women and children – bearing signs of torture. They were taken to a hospital where they reported that other migrants had been with them and then disappeared," one of the security sources told Reuters news agency on Thursday.
The mass grave was discovered some 10km south-east of Ajdabiya, which is around 160km from Benghazi – the second largest city in the North African country and which is under the control of forces loyal to Libya's army strongman Khalifa Haftar.
The Internal Security Agency confirmed the discovery of the mass grave to broadcaster al-Masar.
The channel, which is aligned with Haftar, said the suspect was detained during a raid on the farm and had admitted the presence of a mass grave on his property.
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Cause of death unclear
Unverified pictures posted online showed a number of security personnel and Red Crescent volunteers placing bodies allegedly found on the farm property into black plastic bags.
How the migrants died remained unclear and investigations were underway, said one of the security sources.
Libya remains one of the main departure points for tens of thousands of migrants fleeing conflict and poverty, mainly from sub-Saharan Africa. Many are taking dangerous routes across the desert and over the Mediterranean to reach Europe.
The North African country has been in turmoil since the fall of Moamer Khadafi's regime in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011.
It led to rival administrations in 2014: the UN-recognised Government of National Unity in Tripoli and the Government of National Stability, based in Benghazi.
Libya's oil-based economy also draws migrants seeking work, but poor security leaves them vulnerable to abuse.
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Migrant tragedies
In July, more than 100 migrants, including five women, were freed from captivity in Ajdabiya after being held for ransom by a gang, according to Libya's attorney general.
In September, the UN International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said at least 50 people had died after a vessel carrying 75 Sudanese refugees caught fire off Libya's coast.
In mid-October, 61 bodies of migrants were recovered on the Mediterranean coast west of Tripoli.
In February this year security authorities recovered nearly 50 bodies from two mass graves in the south-eastern desert.
UN data collected in 100 Libyan municipalities between August and October 2025 showed they were hosting a total of 928,839 migrants from 44 countries.
At a UN meeting in Geneva in November, several states including the UK, Spain, Norway and Sierra Leone urged Libya to close detention centres where rights groups say migrants and refugees have been tortured, abused and sometimes killed.
The IOM recorded nearly 1,000 migrant deaths and disappearances in Libya in 2024 alone.
(with newswires)
