Scores of bodies of African migrants washed ashore in Libya, in the western city of Zawiya on the Mediterranean Sea, a spokesman for the Libyan Red Crescent said on Tuesday. The drownings - at least 74 bodies were found in Zawiya - are the latest tragedy at sea after migrant deaths rose to record levels along the Libya-Italy smuggling route over the past months. Al-Misrati said the local authorities would take the bodies to a cemetery in the capital of Tripoli that is allocated for unidentified persons. According to Leggeri, migrant deaths along the central Mediterranean route stood at 4,579 for last year, which still might be much less than the true loss of life. Rights groups have documented migrants' horror journeys involving torture, rape, and forced labor inside Libya.

Source: Libya Today February 21, 2017 10:30 UTC