53 People Rescued 4 Dead
6th December 2011
UNHCR reports that the Moroccan navy rescued 53 people on board a stricken vessel in the Mediterranean Sea. Four people were found to have died. UNHCR, UNHCR Italy.
Source: ECRE newsbulletin... see www.ecre.org for more details
Migrant Boat intercepted near Libya
5th December 2011
From Migrants at Sea:
Libyan officials claimed that Libya intercepted a migrant boat shortly after it left Libya attempting to sail to Italy. The boat was carrying over 400 migrants from sub-Saharan countries including Ethiopia, Ghana, Ivory Coast, and Nigeria. Journalists who interviewed some of the arrested migrants reported the incident appeared to have been staged. Some migrants who "spoke briefly to Reuters said they had paid more than $1,000 each for the trip, and many believed the boat's captain had had no intention of ever making for the European coast, but had handed them straight to the Libyan authorities.
Source:
Criminal Charges for Throwing Migrants into Sea
1st December 2011
Migrants at Sea highlight that ITALIAN authorities have brought criminal charges against 5 men who are accused of throwing fellow migrant passengers into the sea from a disabled migrant boat in August 2011 (AnsaMed, Repubblica, Corriere)
2011 Deadliest Year for Boatpeople
1st December 2011
According to the hearing organised by the the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Migration Committee there were 1971 boatpeople having perished in the Mediterranean Sea while trying to reach European soil from North Africa.
"The year 2011 sets a sad record as the deadliest year for boatpeople,” said PACE rapporteur Tineke Strik (Netherlands, SOC)
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