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The Spokesman-Review Newspaper
Spokane, Washington  Est. May 19, 1883

Libyan official says truck overturns, kills 19 migrants

Associated Press

BENGHAZI, Libya – A Libyan official says at least 19 illegal migrants have been killed in a truck crash near the town of Bani Walid, about 112 miles southeast of Tripoli.

The chief of Bani Walid hospital, Mohamed el-Mabruk, tells The Associated Press that 60 others were injured when the truck overturned early Wednesday.

He says more than 200 migrants, mostly from Eritrea, Somalia and Sudan, were on board. The cause of the crash wasn’t clear.

Libya plunged into chaos following a 2011 uprising and is now split between rival governments in the east and west, each backed by a myriad of militias.

The chaos has made Libya a major transit point for migrants from across Africa and the Middle East hoping to reach Europe.