By Antoine Lawson LIBREVILLE, Dec 4 (Reuters) - Twelve unidentified migrants whose bodies washed up on a beach have been buried in Gabon, where authorities believe they were seeking to settle in search of a better life, the central African country said on Tuesday. The victims, believed to have been shipwrecked on their way from West Africa, were found in the capital Libreville whose relative prosperity, funded by oil, has long made it a favourite destination for illegal migrants from nearby countries. "The victims' bodies were buried on Monday under the supervision of the city council," said Captain Raymond Makasso, head of the marine division of the Gendarmerie, or paramilitary police, which handles surveillance of the country's shoreline. Gabon regularly finds bodies washed ashore or floating in the Atlantic, but it is unusual for so many to be found at once, Interior Minister Andre Mba Obame told state radio on Tuesday. A member of the funeral service which buried them said some of the bodies had tribal scars common in West Africa. Fragments of the wooden vessel and brightly coloured fabrics washed ashore nearby also appeared to come from West Africa, said the staff member, who declined to be named. Many West African immigrants head for Spain's Canary Islands hoping to reach Europe, though many die at sea on the way. For those intending to stay in Africa, a major migration hub is Nigeria, home to Africa's biggest population, most of whom remain poor despite living in the continent's top oil producer. Traffickers regularly cram 200 or 300 people into pirogues, the open wooden boats used across West Africa. Powered by sometimes ancient outboard motors and poor quality fuel, the normally three-day ocean voyage to Gabon can take a fortnight. "Sometimes we are able to board illegal craft when our patrols chance on them, or we receive anonymous tip-offs, but most of the time they reach the towns, helped by smugglers or other people involved in this traffic," said Makasso. Gabon has just two working patrol boats to police its 800 km (500 mile) coastline, said Martin Koumba of the border police. Last week the authorities arrested 10 illegal migrants from various African countries, one of whom told officials he had paid his traffickers 200,000 CFA francs ($450) -- a fortune for many in a region where monthly wages for those lucky enough to have a job are regularly under $100. With investment from former colonial ruler France, Gabon was one of the first sub-Saharan African countries to exploit its crude oil reserves, which have made its 1.5 million people among the continent's richest on a per capita basis. But the wealth is far from evenly spread, and many people -- immigrants in particular -- survive in poverty amid the relative affluence of Libreville and other large towns. (Writing by Alistair Thomson; Editing by Caroline Drees)
