INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Sixty-one migrants, including women and children, drowned following a shipwreck off Libya, the International Organization for Migration
(IOM) in Libya said.IOM, in a post on social media platform X, quoted survivors as saying the boat, carrying around 86 people, departed the
sank off Greece after departing from Tobruk, Libya
The voyage, which was supposed to end in Italy, resulted in 78 recorded deaths with the fate of 518 others unknown, according to an IOM
report.Drowning was the main cause of death on migration routes globally in the first half of 2023, with 2,200 recorded fatalities in the
period, according to the IOM report.The central Mediterranean route was the deadliest, accounting for a total of 1,727 deaths and
disappearances along its shores in the period, the IOM report said
The majority of the deaths were recorded in Tunisia, followed by Libya, it said.The figures remain an undercount, IOM said in its report.Sea
migrant arrivals to Italy have almost doubled in 2023 compared with the same period last year, with around 140,000 people coming ashore so
Some 91% came from Tunisia, with the tiny Italian island of Lampedusa bearing the brunt of landings.The European Union and Tunisia signed a
leaving the North African nation for Europe.Britain and Italy announced plans on Saturday to jointly finance the journey home for migrants
stranded in Tunisia, according to statements from both countries, but did not say how much would money was being provided.Source:
