At least 70 migrants have drowned in the past two weeks after leaving the Libyan coast for Europe, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Thursday (March 17).
Read alsoLibya: the bodies of 28 migrants discovered on the coast
“
At least 70 migrants are missing off the coast of Libya and presumed drowned over the past two weeks
,” IOM said in a statement.
According to the organization, "
a boat carrying 25 migrants capsized on March 12 off Tobruk
", in eastern Libya.
“
Authorities rescued six migrants and recovered seven bodies while 12 others are still wanted.
»
215 migrants dead or missing in the Mediterranean since the beginning of 2022
The IOM mentioned another shipwreck dating from February 27, when a boat “
overturned four hours after leaving the port of Sabratha
” (west).
“
No survivors
” were found after the shipwreck, according to the IOM, which added that the bodies of 15 migrants, including that of a baby, were recovered while 35 people are still missing.
These shipwrecks bring to 215 the number of migrants recorded dead or missing in the central Mediterranean since the beginning of 2022, according to the IOM's "
Missing Migrants Project
", which lists people who have died during their migration to an international destination.
Libya, plunged into political and security chaos since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, is an important crossing point for tens of thousands of migrants seeking each year to reach Europe by the Italian coasts, only 300 km away .
Mostly from countries in sub-Saharan Africa, these candidates for exile are the prey of traffickers there, when they do not die trying to cross.
Federico Soda, head of the IOM mission in Libya, quoted in the press release, said he was “
dismayed
” by these human losses and “
the lack of action to deal with this tragedy
”.
Read alsoRefoulement of migrants: a Syrian claims compensation from Frontex
"
More than half of the deaths this year (listed by the Missing Migrants Project, editor's note) were recorded near the Libyan coast
", he said, recalling that with each announcement of disappearance, "
there is a grieving family searching for answers
”.
More than 123,000 migrants landed in Italy in 2021, from Libya or Tunisia, compared to more than 95,000 in 2020, according to the High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
Nearly 2,000 migrants were reported missing in 2021 or drowned in the Mediterranean compared to 1,401 in 2020, according to the same source.
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