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By Alessandra Bocchi.
Tunis, 21 February 2017:
Along beaches between Zawia and Al-Harsha, the sea has returned the bodies of scores of migrants who only a few hours earlier had left Libya in the hope of a new life in Europe.
According to the Libyan Red Crescent, 75 corpses have been found washed up on the shore.
The charity’s spokesman Mohamed Misrati told AP that the remains of an inflatable raft were also discovered. He estimated it could have been carrying at least 100 people. He expected more bodies to be washed up on the beaches The victims all appeared to be sub-Saharan Africans. At least three of the dead were female.
According to the Libyan coastguard on Friday and Saturday, its vessels picked up more than 500 migrants offshore near Sabratha.
According to the latest report from the International Organisation for Migration, so far this year 9,4481 migrants have arrived from Libya in Europe by sea this year while 270 were reported dead or missing. But the IOM admits the figure for the dead may well be higher.
Italy has increased training and equipment for Libyan coastguards to stop migration from North Africa to southern EU states.
The Libya-Italy migration deal, signed this month, includes provisions for the strengthening of Libya’s borders as well as the repatriation of migrants. The deal drew sharp criticism from Libya’s NGOs and a range of international actors, who see the move as inhumane and counterproductive.
