73 migrants presumed dead in vessel mishap off Libya

Описание: (16 Feb 2023)
RESTRICTION SUMMARY:

++CLIENTS NOTE: EDIT CONTAINS GRAPHIC FOOTAGE OF DEAD BODIES++

ASSOCIATED PRESS
Qasr al-Akhyar, Libya - 14 February 2023
1. Various of Red Crescent recovery team bagging migrants' bodies
2. Migrants carrying body out of the water
3. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Muhammad Abu Aboud, Director of public relations and information in Qasr al-Akhyar municipality:
"Today is difficult. It's one of the most painful days. A boat carrying illegal migrants has sunk. The municipal council and the people of Qasr al-Akhyar area have complained about this issue, the spike in illegal migration and then bodies would float ashore in the region. But so far we haven't seen any serious action to combat this offensive matter."
4. SOUNDBITE (Arabic) Salem Awaj, Mayor of Qasr al-Akhyar:
"These are the bodies. They are there because of human traffickers. I appeal to the Ministry of Interior and the Government of National Unity to supply police units and guard this beach from human traffickers."
5. Mid of damaged rubber boat in the water
STORYLINE:
An inflatable rubber boat carrying migrants wrecked off the coast of Libya left 73 people missing and presumed dead, a U.N. migration agency said on Wednesday.

The U.N. International Organization for Migration said in a statement that the disaster took place Tuesday and that Libyan authorities had retrieved 11 bodies.

It said the boat, packed with around 80 migrants, reportedly departed from the village of Qasr al-Akhyar, 80 kilometers (50 miles) east of the capital, Tripoli.

The migrants were heading to European shores, it said.

Salem Awag, the top Qasr al-Akhyar official, called on authorities in Tripoli to step up support to the village to help guard the shore and prevent further crossings.

Tuesday’s shipwreck was the latest tragedy in the central Mediterranean Sea, a key route for migrants.

The death toll on that route has reached at least 130 migrants this year, IOM said.

Off Libya's shores alone, at least 529 migrants were reported dead and 848 others missing last year, while over 24,680 were intercepted and returned to the country, according to the IOM.

Libya has in recent years emerged as the dominant transit point for migrants from Africa and the Middle East trying to make it to Europe.

The oil-rich country plunged into chaos following a NATO-backed uprising that toppled and killed longtime autocrat Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.

Human traffickers in recent years have benefited from the chaos in war-torn Libya, smuggling in migrants across the desert country’s lengthy borders with six nations.

The migrants are then typically packed into ill-equipped rubber boats and set off on risky sea voyages.

European countries have in recent years pushed Libyan authorities and the coast guard to detain and intercept migrants attempting to cross to European shores.

Many of those who have been intercepted and returned to Libya — including women and children — are held in government-run detention centers where they suffer from abuse, including torture, rape and extortion, according to rights groups.

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