The bodies of 19 migrants linked to smuggling networks have been found in three graves on farms in east Libya. Ten bodies were also recovered after a boat sank in the west of the country.
The 19 bodies were uncovered on Thursday in the Jikharra area, about 440km from Benghazi, the Security Directorate in Al Wahat district of eastern Libya said in a statement on Facebook.
It posted images showing police and volunteers from the Libyan Red Crescent placing the bodies in black bags. The graves were excavated with help from the Red Crescent, with the remains taken to a forensic examiner, the directorate added.
"In the presence of the Public Prosecution Office, the directorate was able to recover 19 bodies resulting from smuggling and illegal migration activities ... belonging to a known smuggling network," it said.
Three graves were discovered on the farms, with one holding one body, a second containing four bodies and the third containing 14. The directorate called it an "inhumane act that completely disregards the values of humanity".
Security patrols have been sent to secure the area around the farms, while investigations continue, the directorate added.
The Libyan Red Crescent said on Facebook that volunteers also recovered 10 bodies on Thursday after a boat sank off Dila port in the city of Zawiya, about 40km from Tripoli. The agency posted images showing volunteers placing bodies in white plastic bags.
Libya has become a major transit route for migrants looking to reach Europe, with many fleeing conflict and poverty by trying to cross the Mediterranean.
At the end of January, Al Wahat Criminal Investigation Department said it had freed 263 migrants from sub-Saharan Africa, saying they were "being held by a smuggling gang in extremely poor human and health conditions".