No Result
View All Result
Sunday, July 13, 2025
23 °c
Tripoli
24 ° Sat
24 ° Sun
  • Advertising
  • Contact
LibyaHerald
  • Home
  • Libya
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Magazine
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Register
SUBSCRIBE
  • Home
  • Libya
  • Business
  • Opinion
  • Magazine
  • Advertising
  • Login
  • Register
No Result
View All Result
LibyaHerald
No Result
View All Result
Home Libya

Recent migrant surge from Libya has many reasons beyond good weather: Analysis

bySami Zaptia
September 3, 2016
Reading Time: 3 mins read
A A
Recent migrant surge from Libya has many reasons beyond good weather: Analysis

A semi-inflated raft from which the migrants had disappeared (File photo)

By Sami Zaptia.

An empty rubber dinghy left floating after the 104 migrants and refugees had been rescued by the private NGO, Migrant Offshore Aid Station ship The Phoenix about 30 miles from the Libyan shore from where they had set out from 12 hours before. All the people were rescued and taken to Sicily
An empty rubber dinghy left floating after its 104 migrants had been rescued by the private NGO, Migrant Offshore Aid Station ship The Phoenix about 30 miles from the Libyan shore from where they had set out from 12 hours earlier (Photo: MOAS/Jason Florio).

London, 1 September 2016:

There has been much speculation about the reasons for the recent sudden surge in migrants rescued in the Mediterranean originating from the Libyan coast. Most analysts have put the surge down to favourable weather and sea conditions off the western Libyan coast. However, those on the ground in Libya offer other more complex explanations to the Libyan human trafficking industry.

Libya Herald spoke to Mark Micallef, the Malta-based Executive Editor of the Migrant Report, a non-profit project designed to measure, investigate and document the impact of human movement. Its primary focus is on the Mediterranean as a focal point of human migration from Africa to Europe.

Micallef has been engaged with African migration to Europe for more than a decade as a journalist, and TV presenter. In 2015, he started working on the setting up of a ground network in Libya, specifically focused on migration with the aim of developing an on-the-ground, dynamic picture of the situation.

RELATED POSTS

AU’s Committee of Intelligence and Security Services of Africa (CISSA) opens its Tripoli office

Military operations launched in Zawia and surrounding areas ostensibly to fight crime – and possibly militias too

‘‘It’s worth looking at the month of August as a whole and not just the last week’’, Micallef said in response to my query about the sudden surge.

‘‘In the first four weeks of the month there was a substantial drop in the number of people who crossed from Libya. If you look at UNHCR figures up to 27 August, you will find that only about 12,000 people had crossed up to that point in August, almost 10,000 less than during the same month the previous year’’.

‘‘Then in the last week there was a sudden surge which now sees August 2016 surpass the same month last year in terms of the number of people who crossed, but not by a large margin’’.

With regards to the lull in migrant launches he said: ‘‘I have just returned from field research across the west coast of Libya and which included some days in Sabratha. It is hard to pin down the exact reason for the disruption (before this week’s surge), however, two elements appear significant’’.

‘‘The first is that there seems to be a problem in the supply of boats. Over the past weeks we have witnessed a number of “unconventional” boats being used; small wooden fishing vessels and even rubber rafts which do not conform to the standard vessel seen in past years; normally a nine to 12 metre light/grey rubber dinghy with a plywood-reinforced bottom. Some are slightly smaller or black in colour’’.

‘‘The second factor’’, he continued, ‘‘is the tensions experienced in the region over the past weeks. On the west, due to the Ras Ejdir stand-off, and on the east with the escalating tension between Zawiya and Warshefana, which eventually dissipated when the highway was reopened last week’’.

‘‘These tensions’’, Micallef explained, ‘‘negatively impact logistical operations prior to the migrants reaching the departure points on the beaches and this often determines departures – much more than the weather does’’.

The EU, in its efforts to counter the human trafficking operations from Libya, has promised to disrupt the business model of the people smugglers. Worryingly, Micallef’s feedback from his recent visit to Libya seem to confirm that the human traffickers’ operations have become consistent on an industrial scale.

‘‘In fact, it is no coincidence that similar numbers of people are seen crossing month on month”, he explains. ”Libya’s smuggling industry, across the chain from the southeast and the southwest down to the transit zones in the centre of the country (such as Bani Walid and Ajdabiya), right up to the coast, has developed a level of capacity that although seasonal – has a relatively consistent pattern’’.

‘‘This suggests that we should not try to analyse a drop or increase in the number of departures only on the basis of factors affecting the sea journey’’, Micallef warned. ‘‘The explanation is often found further up the supply chain’’.

‘‘It’s sad that we have to use such terms when we are talking about a business that trades in human lives but the reality is that: Libya’s smuggling business shows all the signs of having become an industrialized activity’’, lamented Micallef.

Tags: featuredhuman traffickingillegal migrationLibyaMaltaMark Micallef Migrant Report Executive Editor

Related Posts

Attorney General orders arrests at Jumhouria bank branch for embezzlement
Libya

Attorney General provides update on investigation of incidents resulting from Tripoli 2025 armed clashes and demonstrations

July 11, 2025
GNU to take oath at Benghazi HoR session and budget to be approved at Tripoli session: GNU
Libya

Aldabaiba seeking long term partnership not interim solutions on combatting irregular migration

July 10, 2025
Acting Interior Minister Trabelsi taking steps to counter forged ID numbers and passports
Libya

There are 4 million irregular migrants in Libya: Interior Minister Trabelsi

July 10, 2025
GNU to take oath at Benghazi HoR session and budget to be approved at Tripoli session: GNU
Libya

Aldabaiba: Militias have become criminal gangs and a state within the state

July 9, 2025
Libya Herald exclusive: Responding to the prime minister’s call yesterday to the private sector and banks to do more, leading businessman Husni Bey responds
Business

Op-Ed: Reputational Damage Is Worse Than Losing Money

July 2, 2025
Libyan Russian Economic Forum starts in St. Petersburg
Libya

Libyan Russian Economic Forum starts in St. Petersburg

June 27, 2025
Next Post
UNSMIL’s Kobler due in Algiers tomorrow

UNSMIL's Kobler due in Algiers tomorrow

New security directorate headquarters for Benghazi unveiled

New security directorate headquarters for Benghazi unveiled

ADVERTISEMENT

Top Stories

  • Benghazi port receives 398 containers of mixed goods, 25,000 tons of wheat, 28,500 tons of barley and 6,000 tons of cement

    All imports into Libya must be paid for through official bank transactions

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • BP to reopen office in Libya, Shell discusses prospects for cooperation in oil field development‎

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Libya Development and Reconstruction Fund signs contract with Turkey’s Ankamenia for maintenance of Benghazi University’s medical colleges

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Libyan olive oils win gold at Anatolian, Berlin and Japan 2025 international olive oil competitions

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
  • Aldabaiba opens First Phase of Tripoli’s Third Ring Road

    0 shares
    Share 0 Tweet 0
ADVERTISEMENT
LibyaHerald

The Libya Herald first appeared on 17 February 2012 – the first anniversary of the Libyan Revolution. Since then, it has become a favourite go-to source on news about Libya, for many in Libya and around the world, regularly attracting millions of hits.

Recent News

CBL workshop on ‎”The Role of the Banking Sector in Revitalising Stalled Housing Projects and Urban Development”‎ to be held in Tripoli on 13 July

Attorney General provides update on investigation of incidents resulting from Tripoli 2025 armed clashes and demonstrations

Sitemap

  • Why subscribe?
  • Terms & Conditions
  • FAQs
  • Copyright & Intellectual Property Rights
  • Subscribe now

Newsletters

    Be the first to know latest important news & events directly to your inbox.

    Sending ...

    By signing up, I agree to our TOS and Privacy Policy.

    © 2022 LibyaHerald - Powered by Sparx Solutions.

    Welcome Back!

    Login to your account below

    Forgotten Password? Sign Up

    Create New Account!

    Fill the forms below to register

    *By registering into our website, you agree to the Terms & Conditions and Privacy Policy.
    All fields are required. Log In

    Retrieve your password

    Please enter your username or email address to reset your password.

    Log In
    No Result
    View All Result
    • Login
    • Sign Up
    • Libya
    • Business
    • Advertising
    • About us
    • BusinessEye Magazine
    • Letters
    • Features
    • Why subscribe?
    • FAQs
    • Contact

    © 2022 LibyaHerald - Powered by Sparx Solutions.

    This website uses cookies. By continuing to use this website you are giving consent to cookies being used. Visit our Privacy and Cookie Policy.