250 feared dead in new med migrant boat sinkings
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today
Arab Today, arab today
Last Updated : GMT 06:49:16
Arab Today, arab today

250 feared dead in new Med migrant boat sinkings

Arab Today, arab today

Arab Today, arab today 250 feared dead in new Med migrant boat sinkings

The shipwreck of an overcrowded boat of migrants off the Libyan coast
Rome - Arab Today

Around 250 African migrants are feared to have drowned in the Mediterranean after a charity’s rescue boat found five corpses and two partially submerged rubber dinghies off Libya, a spokeswoman said Thursday.
Laura Lanuza of Spanish charity Proactiva Open Arms said its boat Golfo Azzuro had recovered the five dead bodies close to the dinghies, about 15 miles off the Libyan coast.
“We don’t think there can be any other explanation than that these dinghies would have been full of people,” she told AFP. “It seems clear that they sunk.”
She added that they would typically have been carrying 120-140 migrants each.
“In over a year we have never seen any of these dinghies that were anything other than packed.”
Lanuza said the bodies recovered were African men with estimated ages of between 16 and 25.
They had drowned, apparently in the 24 hours prior to them being discovered shortly after dawn on Thursday in waters directly north of the Libyan port of Sabrata.
Despite rough winter seas, migrant departures from Libya on boats chartered by people traffickers have accelerated in recent months from already-record levels.
Over 5,000 people have been picked up by rescue boats since Sunday, bringing the number brought to Italy since the start of 2017 to over 21,000, a rise of more than half compared to the same period in previous years.
Aid groups say the accelerating exodus is being driven by worsening living conditions for migrants in Libya and by fears the sea route to Europe could soon be closed to traffickers.
Prior to the latest fatal incident, the UN refugee agency had estimated that some 440 migrants had died trying to make the crossing from Libya to Italy since the start of 2017.
That figure, also sharply up on previous years, is based on a combination of bodies recovered and testimonies from survivors of shipwrecks.
More than half a million migrants reached Italy from Libya between late 2013 and the end of last year.
And if the trend of the opening weeks of 2017 continues, another 250,000 will have to be accommodated this year by Italy’s over-stretched facilities for asylum seekers.
Against that backdrop, Italy has stepped up cooperation with Libya with the aim of deterring boat departures by ensuring the north African country’s own coast guard turns boats back to port before they reach international waters.
The plans involve equipping and training the Libyan coast guard and helping the former Italian colony to upgrade holding camps for migrants in Libya pending their deportation to their countries of origin.
But the moves have caused concern among human rights bodies because of the squalid, dangerous conditions in the detention camps, and the inherently unstable state of the conflict-scarred country.
Italy has also stepped up its efforts to persuade other European countries to accept some of the asylum-seekers and other migrants landed at its southern ports, with limited success so far.
The overwhelming majority of the migrants reaching Italy are from Africa.
The Italian government insists most of them are economic migrants.
But rights bodies point out that some 40 percent of those who apply to stay in Italy are eventually allowed to, either because they qualify as refugees under international law or because they have a case for leave to remain under Italy’s own humanitarian provisions.

Sourc: Arab News

arabstoday
arabstoday

Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

250 feared dead in new med migrant boat sinkings 250 feared dead in new med migrant boat sinkings

 



Name *

E-mail *

Comment Title*

Comment *

: Characters Left

Mandatory *

Terms of use

Publishing Terms: Not to offend the author, or to persons or sanctities or attacking religions or divine self. And stay away from sectarian and racial incitement and insults.

I agree with the Terms of Use

Security Code*

250 feared dead in new med migrant boat sinkings 250 feared dead in new med migrant boat sinkings

 



GMT 12:49 2017 Wednesday ,06 September

Senegal wants to buy 10 units of ship from PT PAL Indonesia

GMT 22:57 2017 Wednesday ,01 March

Trump lays out his vision of America to Congress

GMT 21:08 2017 Sunday ,17 September

OIC condemns suicide attack in Cameroon

GMT 00:59 2017 Sunday ,10 December

hmad Zahid's Visit To Rohingya Camp

GMT 02:25 2017 Friday ,24 February

Pope in emotion-charged visit to Italy quake zone

GMT 22:26 2016 Thursday ,22 September

Indian market closes higher

GMT 05:52 2016 Wednesday ,05 October

Robin Williams’ widow details actor’s final days

GMT 18:42 2017 Saturday ,07 October

Education, Works ministries discuss cooperation

GMT 03:11 2017 Friday ,14 April

5 Sudanese soldiers killed in Yemen

GMT 15:35 2017 Saturday ,25 February

United Nations chief arrives in Saudi

GMT 20:47 2017 Saturday ,07 October

PM asserts to bolster relations with Egypt

GMT 07:09 2017 Wednesday ,29 March

Ellie Goulding to Open Mawazine Festival

GMT 05:01 2017 Friday ,05 May

Arab Media Forum begins in Dubai

GMT 01:12 2017 Wednesday ,18 October

Fights against climate change, terrorism linked

GMT 06:59 2017 Monday ,13 February

Disney parks in US increases prices again

GMT 14:36 2017 Wednesday ,04 January

Record-chasing Chelsea face test

GMT 14:34 2016 Sunday ,14 August

United States wins 1000th Olympic gold medal
Arab Today, arab today
 
 Arab Today Facebook,arab today facebook  Arab Today Twitter,arab today twitter Arab Today Rss,arab today rss  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube  Arab Today Youtube,arab today youtube

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

Maintained and developed by Arabs Today Group SAL.
All rights reserved to Arab Today Media Group 2021 ©

arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday arabstoday arabstoday
arabstoday
بناية النخيل - رأس النبع _ خلف السفارة الفرنسية _بيروت - لبنان
arabstoday, Arabstoday, Arabstoday