Libya recovers 17 bodies believed to be migrants on Tripoli coast

Libya has ​become a transit route for ​migrants ⁠fleeing conflict.

Libya recovers 17 bodies believed to be migrants on Tripoli coast

At least 17 bodies believed to be those of migrants have ​been recovered in recent days from ‌the shore near a coastal town west of the Libyan capital, Tripoli-based medics said this Saturday.

The Emergency Medicine and Support ​Center, which operates under the health ministry, ⁠said the bodies were recovered from ​the shores of Zuwara, some 117 km (72.7 ​miles) to the west of Tripoli.

A total of 14 bodies have been buried according to protocols, ​the centre said, and one body ​of a Bangladeshi national was identified and received ‌by ⁠his family in Tripoli. No further details were provided on the remaining two bodies.

Images posted on the centre’s verified Facebook page ​showed medics ​placing bodies ⁠in white plastic bags before loading them into ambulances.

Libya has ​become a transit route for ​migrants ⁠fleeing conflict and poverty to Europe via dangerous routes across the desert and over ⁠the ​Mediterranean since the toppling ​of Muammar Gaddafi in a NATO-backed uprising in 2011.