The United Nations says more than 160 migrants have drowned in Libyan ships

IOM spokeswoman Safa Msehli said at least 102 migrants had been killed when a boat capsized on Friday, another 62 before being killed in another incident on Saturday.

More than 160 migrants drowned in two Libyan shipwrecks last week, according to a United Nations migration official.

Safa Msehli, a spokeswoman for the International Organization for Migration, said on Tuesday that at least 102 migrants had been killed after the wooden ship capsized in Libya on Friday. At least eight others were rescued and returned to land, he said.

The second shipwreck was on Saturday. Libyan coastguards have recovered the bodies of at least 62 immigrants, Msehli said. On the same day, coastguards seized a third wooden boat carrying at least 210 migrants, he said.

The deaths were the latest catastrophes in the Mediterranean Sea, with migrants seeking a better life in Europe.

New deaths have brought about 1,500 migrants drowned this year on the central Mediterranean route, Msehli said.

In recent months a rise and fall in crossings Crossing from Libya in the capital Tripoli has accelerated repression against migrants by authorities.

In 2021, about 31,500 migrants were apprehended and returned to Libya, compared to nearly 11,900 migrants in the previous year, according to the IOM. By 2020, about 980 migrants were killed or presumed dead, the UN agency said.

The IOM said 466 migrants were apprehended or rescued at sea and returned to Libya from December 12 to 18.

Libya has emerged as a major transit point for people fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East. The oil-rich country plunged into chaos in 2011 after ousting and ousting longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi after a NATO-backed uprising.

Human traffickers have profited from the chaos of an oil-rich nation and smuggled across the country’s six-nation border. Disappointed people get into poorly equipped rubber boats, then embark on dangerous voyages across the dangerous Mediterranean Sea.

The detainees have been taken to detention centers full of abuse, including rape, beatings, rape and torture. These abuses are accompanied by efforts to raise money for families before migrants are allowed to leave Libya on the ships of traffickers.

United Nations researchers said in October that there could be ill-treatment and ill-treatment of migrants in Libya. crimes against humanity.