Bodies of migrants scattered on coast of Khoms city: Libyan official

Libya's National Human Rights Commission on Saturday evening revealed that bodies of illegal immigrants are scattered on the coast of Khoms city, 120 kilometers east of the capital Tripoli.

"The National Human Rights Commission strongly condemns inaction of local authorities in Khoms city to meet their moral and humanitarian duty towards the bodies of illegal immigrants scattered on the coast of the city," the commission said in a statement.

The commission demanded concerned authorities to "establish a special graveyard for (bodies of) illegal immigrants in the outskirts of the city."

The commission said the phenomenon of the scattered bodies of illegal immigrants is not dealt with properly, and that activists and staff of the Red Crescent have confirmed that the bodies of the migrants remain on the city's shores for weeks sometimes, which could spread epidemics and diseases.

The commission also appealed to international migration organizations to provide assistance to local authorities of Al-Khoms.

The city of Khoms is one of Libya's major migrant departure points towards European shores.

The International Organization for Migration in Libya recently announced that more than 8,000 illegal immigrants of 23 African and Asian nationalities have been voluntarily repatriated from Libya this year so far.

Libyan naval forces on Saturday announced that nearly 9,000 illegal immigrants have been rescued off Libyan coast during the first half of 2017.

(ASIA PACIFIC DAILY)