TRIPOLI

The number of bodies found in a mass grave from 2011 in Libya’s capital Tripoli, has risen to 73, according to local sources.

A statement by the government’s Search and Identification of Missing Persons Authority has said excavation and search operations are ongoing in the Bir al-Esta area of Tajoura, where the mass grave dates back to 2011.

The statement noted that, in the past 48 hours, teams have recovered 27 additional bodies from the grave, bringing the total exhumed to 73.

On Nov. 1, the authority announced that 46 bodies had already been exhumed from the mass grave in the Bi’r al-Esta area.

The Arab Spring, which began in Tunisia, spread to Libya in February 2011. Forces loyal to Muammar Gaddafi, who had ruled the country for 42 years, opened fire with live ammunition on demonstrators.

During events in Benghazi and Tripoli, dozens of civilians lost their lives.

Shortly before Gaddafi fled Tripoli for his hometown of Sirte, intense clashes broke out between regime forces and opposition fighters.

* Writing by Gizem Nisa Cebi in Istanbul