TRIPOLI — Fifteen migrants drowned after two boats capsized
off
Libya in the latest "tragic loss of life" on the perilous sea
route to Europe, the
UN refugee agency said late Monday.
اضافة اعلان
"Bodies of 15 persons recovered as two boats arrived at
Tripoli Naval Base this evening,"
UNHCR Libya tweeted.
"The passengers had set off from Zwara and Alkhoms the night
before," it added.
The agency said 177 survivors were receiving aid and medical attention
from the UNHCR and its partners.
It tweeted images showing survivors arriving at the base, huddled
under blankets.
The incident is the latest in a series of shipwrecks and deaths
off the coast of the North African country.
Libya is a major point of departure for desperate migrants seeking
to reach Europe, many of them from sub-Saharan African countries.
Tens of thousands board unseaworthy boats every year in attempts
to reach Italian shores 300 kilometers away.
At least 1,010 migrants died at sea en route to Europe between the
start of the year and the end of August, up from 398 during the same period
last year, according to figures published by the
International Organization forMigration (IOM).
The latest deaths come days after six migrants were shot dead at
an overcrowded detention facility in Tripoli following mass arrests targeting
migrants.
Doctors without Borders (MSF) said 5,000 migrants and refugees had
been swept up in "violent mass arrests" and detained in squalid
conditions.
Libyan migrant detention centers have often come under criticism
from UN agencies and human rights groups due to the prevalence of violence,
sexual assault and corruption.
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