Tripoli, September 17 (Reuters/Darfur24)
At least 50 Sudanese refugees have died after a boat carrying 75 people caught fire off the coast of Libya on Sunday, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.
The UN agency confirmed that 24 survivors are receiving medical treatment. “Urgent action is needed to end such tragedies at sea,” IOM Libya said on X.
The incident is the latest in a series of deadly disasters along the Mediterranean migration route. In August, at least 27 people died when two boats sank off the Italian island of Lampedusa. In June, at least 60 people were feared drowned after shipwrecks off Libya’s coast.
According to IOM data, 2,452 migrants and refugees died or went missing in the Mediterranean last year, making it one of the world’s deadliest migration routes.
Libya has become a key transit point for migrants heading to Europe since the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi. Today, the country hosts an estimated 867,000 migrants, many of whom face detention, extortion, and abuse at the hands of militias and armed groups.