Mediterranean Sea – European Affairs Magazine

Over 4,600 migrants died trying to cross the Mediterranean sea in 2016

19 Novembre 2016 BreakingNews @en di

The death toll of migrants crossing the Mediterranean Sea, mostly from the Libyan coast, hit a new record for the month of November, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) says in its latest report. The report says that 546 migrants are reported to be dead so far in the month of November, compared to 141 in 2015 and 22 in 2014 for the whole of November. Approximately 365 people were reported to have lost their lives in the Mediterranean this week alone in three separate shipwrecks that had set off from the Libyan coast. The figure has been rising steadily over the last few days as rescued migrants disembark in Italy and report how many had set off on their craft. This reported number is compared to the number rescued to arrive at those considered missing at sea. These latest mortality reports make 2016 the deadliest year on record for migrants or refugees attempting the perilous crossing. The latest IOM figures say that over 4,600 migrants died in 2016 with 343,589 arriving by sea to Europe.

Immigration: 2,900 people rescued

29 Giugno 2015 BreakingNews @en/Europe di

About 2900 people saved in 21 procedures in Mediterranean Sea. These are the numbers of missions organized by the Italian Coast Guard and Minister of Transport.
To intervene, as part of the Triton, assisted by the European Union, CP906 ship courses and two class 300 patrol boats of the Coast Guard, and a Spanish military ship. Also engaged in rescue ship Euro Italian Navy, a unit of the Guardia di Finanza, an English Irish militaries, and the Moas ship Phoenix, now indispensable for the Italian authorities in many rescues conducted since April.

Libya: is Algiers one’s last hope?

4 Giugno 2015 Middle East - Africa di

Peace talks between two governments are ongoing to Algiers. National unity is necessary to stop the Isis advance and the humanitarian emergency in the Mediterranean Sea.

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“Neither side is strong enough to win”. So Bernardino Leon has opened the two days of peace talks (3 and 4 June) in Algiers. This summit between the Tobruk government, supported by the international community, and to the Tripoli, supported by Qatar and Turkey could be the last one “to find a political solution”, Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya said.

Leon’s thought is echoed by Abdelkader Messahel, Minister for Maghreb and African Affairs of Algeria: “We have to join efforts and make them converge to capitalize on the results achieved so far in an attempt to reach a national unity government to fight terrorism and to create conditions to ensure a peaceful transition towards the establishment of democratic institutions and stable”.

Meanwhile, terrorist attacks are going on the internal front. Last Sunday, 5 Fajr Libya militants were killed after a kamikaze detonated a car bomb near Misrata. The Islamic State claimed the responsibility on Tweeter. This cruent action was due to Fajr Libya affinity to Tripoli government e to oil wells’ control in the province of Jaffa. Indeed, Daesh is aiming for Libya central territory’s conquest as it wants to isolate Daesh to Sebha.

The international front is uncertain too. After opening of the Tripoli government, concerning an EU mission against the smugglers, Ibrahim Dabbashi, Libya’s Ambassador to the UN, has rejected this hypothesis: “As long as the European Union and its partners will do not discuss with the legitimate government, the only one representative of the Libyan people, there will be no approval on our part”.

These words make more important the Leon’s work. The push toward national unity government maintains a dual purpose: stopping the advance of the Isis and reaching an agreement between Libya and the International Community to fight human trafficking in the Mediterranean.
Giacomo Pratali

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