93 Perish in Libyan Desert (2001)
TRIPOLI, Libya (AP) - Dozens of Africans traveling through the desert to
avoid
border checks died of thirst after their truck broke down, stranding them in
the Sahara, the Interior Ministry said Friday.
The bodies of 93 people were found Thursday at Libya's southern border, a
ministry statement said. The Sudanese truck driver and 25 others survived.
No
details about their rescue were available.
The travelers were not carrying identification papers, security officials
said. The truck driver described them as coming from various African
countries, but did not elaborate, the ministry said.
The Niger-registered truck entered Libya on May 8, it said.
Over the past two years, hundreds of thousands from sub-Saharan Africa have
migrated to oil-rich Libya to find work in agriculture or construction, many
illegally, the government said.
Earlier this year, the bodies of 22 Niger nationals trying to get to North
Africa through a side desert route also perished after their truck broke
down,
an Interior Ministry official said.
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