Infomigrants
More than 160 migrants died off Libya over the past week, according to the UN. The total number of migrants who perished on the Central Mediterranean route this year is now over 1,500.
At least 102 migrants were reported dead after their wooden boat capsized near the Libyan port city of Surman, west of Tripoli, on Friday (December 17), according to Safa Msehli, a spokeswoman for the International Organization for Migration (IOM). At least eight others were reportedly rescued and returned to shore.
Three days later, Libyan coast guards found 61 bodies and 210 survivors on board a boat off Sabrata, including 35 women and 10 children, IOM official Flavio Di Giacomo confirmed to InfoMigrants. The 210 people were reportedly taken back to Libya.
Meanwhile news agency dpa reported that multiple wooden boats capsized and sank overnight Saturday and Sunday, citing unnamed media reports. Some people were reportedly rescued from the waters by fishing boats in the area.
According to the IOM’s Missing Migrant Project website, 1,508 migrants have died or gone missing on the Central Mediterranean route so far this year. Last year, 999 cases were recorded, according to the Missing Migrants Project.
Around 31,500 migrants and refugees were intercepted and returned to Libya so far in 2021, compared to under 11,900 migrants the previous year, according to the IOM…
