More than 160 migrants drowned when their ships capsized off the coast of Libya in the last week, while another boat carrying over 200 migrants was intercepted, the Associated Press reported, citing the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Some 102 migrants died on Friday when the wooden boat carrying them capsized, while at least eight other migrants were rescued. On Saturday, at least 62 migrants were killed when their boat sank. At least 1,500 migrants have while traveling through the central Mediterranean in the last year, according to the report.
Migrants from the Middle East and Africa are using Libya as a launching point for travel to countries in Europe, many using the services of human traffickers who place them into dangerous and life-threatening situations. Some 31,500 migrants were intercepted and returned to Libya in 2021, nearly triple the 2020 total, according to the IOM, a United Nations Agency.