Bodies of five migrants recovered in Libyan desert, says local aid groups

CAIRO — The decomposed bodies of five suspected migrants have been recovered in eastern Libya, local aid groups said.

Recovery crews worked with local authorities to recover the remains which were located around 550 kilometers (341 miles) south of Tobruk, in an area called the Great Sand Sea.

Libya, which shares borders with six nations and has a long coastline along the Mediterranean, has been a main transit point for migrants trying to reach Europe who are fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East. Most have to embark on dangerous trips through land and sea.

The recovered remains were taken to Tobruk, according to the Red Crescent. It said Wednesday that one of the “tragedies that embody the grave dangers faced by migrants traveling through the desert, the so-called ‘death