A fatal car crash in Libya’s southeastern desert on Friday left 11 Sudanese migrants and a Libyan driver dead, according to officials. The crash marks another bleak chapter in the ongoing exodus of Sudanese fleeing their country’s brutal civil war.
The collision occurred about 90 kilometers (56 miles) north of the Libyan town of Kufra, when the migrants’ vehicle collided with a truck, the Kufra Ambulance and Emergency Service reported. Three women and two children were among those killed.
Emergency services director Ibrahim Abu al-Hasan confirmed that a 65-year-old man and his 10-year-old son were injured in the crash.
The incident follows a series of migrant tragedies in Libya’s desert regions. In early May, seven Sudanese migrants died and 34 others were stranded for days in the harsh terrain after their vehicle broke down on a smuggling route connecting Chad and Libya.
Libya, which descended into chaos after 2011, remains a major hub for migrants and smugglers. Its porous borders with six countries and extensive Mediterranean coastline have made it a major transit point for those trying to reach Europe.
Human traffickers continue to exploit the instability by ferrying desperate migrants across Libya’s borders with Sudan, Chad, Niger, Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia.