TRIPOLI, Feb 21 (Reuters) - The bodies of five migrants, including two women, were found after washing ashore in the coastal town of Qasr al-Akhyar, east of the capital Tripoli, a Libyan police official told Reuters on Saturday.

Hassan Al-Ghawil, head of the investigations department at Qasr Al-Akhyar police station, stated that residents reported that the body of a child was swept to the shore by the waves but returned to the sea due to the high waves, noting that they asked the coast guard to search for it.

Al-Ghawil added that the bodies were all of black people, and were found by local residents on the beach of Muhammad al-Sharif in the western part of the city, who then informed the police station.

Libya has become a transit route for migrants fleeing conflict and poverty toward Europe via the Mediterranean Sea since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 following a NATO-backed uprising. The conflict has also divided the country into two factions in the west and east since 2014.

The Palace of the Good is located about 73 kilometers east of Tripoli.

Reuters has seen photos posted online showing the bodies of migrants lying on the beach, some still inside black rubber lifebuoys.

Al-Ghawil said, "We contacted the Red Crescent to retrieve the bodies. The bodies we found are still intact, and we believe there are more bodies that will wash ashore."

Earlier this month, the International Organization for Migration said that 53 migrants, including two infants, died or went missing after a rubber boat carrying 55 people capsized off the coast of Zuwara, west of Tripoli.

Last week, a United Nations report stated that migrants in Libya, including girls, are at risk of being killed, tortured, raped, or exploited in domestic slavery, and called for a suspension of the return of migrant boats to Libya until human rights are guaranteed.