By Libya Herald reporter.
Tunis, 4 August 2015:
Over 2,000 migrants have died so far this year trying to cross the Mediterranean to . . .[restrict]Europe – the majority of whom departed from Libya, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said today.
The IOM said that these figures confirm that the Libya route was the ‘’deadliest’’ for migrants wishing to reach Europe. This year’s figures have surpassed the 2014 deaths for the same period totalling 1,607.
A total of 3,279 lives were lost in 2014.
The IOM says that unseaworthy vessels used by smugglers and traffickers significantly increase the likelihood of tragedies occurring.
Approximately 188,000 migrants have been rescued in the Mediterranean so far this year and the IOM believes that more migrants will attempt to reach European shores as the summer progresses, and that the 200,000 mark will be reached very soon.
Libya has been at the centre of the migration crises across the Mediterranean and into Europe as its political divisions have left many ungoverned spaces with weak central government control. This lack of monopoly on the legitimate use of force caused by the split of the Libyan state has left a vacuum for people trafficking.
The UN has been mediating talks between the two main Libyan factions and a draft agreement has been initialized by most of the antagonists – but not all.
The international community is eager that one stronger unified Libyan government is in place sooner rather than later so that it can offer help in combatting illegal migration and the growing threat of Daesh/IS in Libya. [/restrict]
