Get all your news in one place.
100’s of premium titles.
One app.
Start reading
Asharq Al-Awsat
Asharq Al-Awsat
World
Asharq Al-Awsat

More than 40 Bodies Found in Libya Mass Grave

Suspected members of ISIS sit in the defendant's cage during their trial, in the northwestern Libyan city of Misrata. Reuters file photo

Forty-two bodies have been found in a mass grave in the Libyan city of Sirte, an ex-stronghold of ISIS, the country's missing persons authority said Sunday.

Exhumation teams unearthed "42 unidentified bodies" after following up reports of a "mass grave" at the site of a former school in Sirte, the authority said.

"DNA samples have been taken for analysis in coordination with the office of forensic medicine," AFP quoted hit as saying, without elaborating further.

Sirte, a central coastal city, was held by ISIS between 2015 and 2016, as it exploited the chaos engulfing much of Libya in the wake of the 2011 overthrow and killing of Moammer Gadhafi in a NATO-backed uprising.

The group was dislodged by forces loyal to the then Government of National Accord in December 2016 after months of intense house-to-house fighting.

In October 2017, a grave containing the bodies of 21 Coptic Christians, executed by the extremists two years earlier, was uncovered near the Mediterranean city.

Another mass grave with the remains of 34 Ethiopian Christians was discovered near Sirte in December 2018, more than three years after ISIS published a video showing its personnel executing at least 28 men described as Ethiopian Christians.

Sign up to read this article
Read news from 100’s of titles, curated specifically for you.
Already a member? Sign in here
Related Stories
Top stories on inkl right now
One subscription that gives you access to news from hundreds of sites
Already a member? Sign in here
Our Picks
Fourteen days free
Download the app
One app. One membership.
100+ trusted global sources.