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A boat carrying 400 migrants was adrift in the Mediterranean Sea on Sunday, waiting to be rescued. More migrants died at sea in the first quarter since 2017, a new report said Wednesday. Photo courtesy of Sea-Watch International Twitter.
April 12 (United Press International) — The 414 deaths of migrants who crossed the Mediterranean Sea were recorded in the first quarter, the most since 2017, the United Nations’ main migration agency said on Wednesday.
That number is expected to soar as the number of people trying to flee war and famine soars.
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Missing Migrants Project of the United Nations International Organization for Migration Said to be deliberately procrastinating A state-led rescue operation contributed to the surge. Efforts to impede search and rescue efforts by NGOs have also contributed to the rise, the group said.
The IOM provides services and advice on migration to governments and migrants, including internally displaced persons, refugees and migrant workers.
“The ongoing humanitarian crisis in the central Mediterranean cannot be tolerated,” IOM Director-General Antonio Vitorino said in a statement. “Over 20,000 deaths have been recorded on this route since 2014 and I fear that these have normalized. Countries must respond. Delays and gaps in state-led SAR [search and rescue] is taking human life. “
Deaths related to crossing the Mediterranean fell from a 12-month total of 4,574 in 2016 to 1,000 in 2020 before rising again in 2021 (1,553) and 2022 (1,417).
In the past week alone, the Italian Coast Guard Efforts to rescue Two boats carrying about 1,200 migrants attempted to reach Europe. A barge carrying about 400 migrants was confirmed to have left Libya at the weekend before running into trouble, sending it adrift and stranded some passengers.
It is unclear how many migrants have died in the current Italian rescue operation, although there have been reports of people jumping from the barge. Sea-Watch International, a German NGO, complained that countries were delaying relief efforts under the circumstances.
“Recently, search and rescue efforts led by NGOs have decreased significantly,” the IOM said in a statement. “On March 25, the Libyan coastguard fired into the air as the NGO rescue vessel Ocean Viking was responding to reports of a dinghy in distress.
“Also, on Sunday, March 26, another vessel, the Louise Michel, was detained in Italy after rescuing 180 people at sea, echoing the earlier detention and subsequent release of the Geo Barents in February.”
The report said 31,192 migrants arrived in Italy this weekend, around 3,000 of them over the Easter weekend.
“The IOM is also calling for further coordinated action to dismantle criminal smuggling networks and prosecute those who profit from the desperation of migrants and refugees by facilitating dangerous journeys.”
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