CAIRO — The bodies of 74 migrants were recovered from a beach near the town of Zawiya in western Libya, rescuers said Tuesday, an ominous sign before the high season for Mediterranean crossings. The bodies were believed to have come from a shipwrecked boat that was found along the same stretch of shore, said Mohammed Almosrti, a spokesman for the Libyan Red Crescent. Libya was the launching point for many of the estimated 180,000 migrants who reached Italy last year. The migrants, most of whom are trying to flee war or poverty in Africa, arrive in Libya after arduous journeys through the desert. They entrust their lives to smuggling gangs that have set up along a 230-mile stretch of coast in western Libya, which is largely controlled by an array of rival militant groups.

Source: Libya Today February 21, 2017 15:45 UTC