BBC News Online: World: Middle East

Thirst kills scores in Libyan desert

Libya's official Jana news agency said they had died of thirst after the truck they were travelling in broke down inside Libyan territory on 8 May.

Many of the dead are believed to have come from Burkina Faso, Niger and Nigeria.

Another 26, including the Sudanese driver, were able to escape and receive medical care, Jana said.

The dead were not immediately identified, as they were not carrying identity papers.

The bodies were found in several parts of the southern Murzuq region, said security officials quoted by the agency.

The Libyan attorney-general gave permission for the bodies to be buried where they were found as they had decomposed.

In Tripoli, temperatures in May often go over 43 degrees Celsius (110 Fahrenheit), with temperatures even higher in the desert.

Immigration causes tension

Hundreds of thousands of Africans flock each year to Libya in search of employment.

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has in recent years championed the cause of African unity.

Close to two million Africans - in particular from Chad, Ghana, Niger, Nigeria and Sudan - live in Libya, which has about 5 million residents.

Their presence has sparked some resentment among Libyans. Last Sepember, 130 Africans were killed in massacres, according to witness reports from those who fled home or were expelled.