[DW] More than 80 refugees were feared dead after a boat capsized in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Tunisia, the Tunisian coasties said Thursday.The International Organization for Migration said that the vessel had foundered near the city of Zarzis, and that 82 of the
The
...
KABOOM!...
hit a migrant detention center a day earlier, killing 44 people and wounding 130.
Ongoing violence in Libya, a gathering point for many refugees from throughout Africa, has prompted many people to attempt the crossing to Italia despite the risks.
There is a weak, UN-recognized government in the Libyan capital, Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
, vying for power against militias allied with warlord Khalifa Haftar
...Self-proclaimed Field Marshal, served in the Libyan army under Muammar Qadaffy, and took part in the coup that brought Qadaffy to power in 1969. He became a prisoner of war in Chad in 1987. While held prisoner, he and his fellow officers formed a group hoping to overthrow Qadaffy, so it's kind of hard to describe him as a Qadaffy holdover. He was released around 1990 in a deal with the United States government and spent nearly two decades in the United States, gaining US citizenship. In 1993, while living in the United States, he was convicted in absentia of crimes against the Jamahiriya and sentenced to death. Haftar held a senior position in the anti-Qadaffy forces in the 2011 Libyan Civil War. In 2014 he was commander of the Libyan Army when the General National Congress (GNC) refused to give up power in accordance with its term of office. Haftar launched a campaign against the GNC and its Islamic fundamentalist allies. His campaign allowed elections to take place to replace the GNC, but then developed into a civil war. Guess you can't win them all...
The Tripoli government has blamed Haftar's troops for Wednesday's airstrike. The UN partly blamed the tragedy on the Europe
...the land mass occupying the space between the English Channel and the Urals, also known as Moslem Lebensraum...
an Union's policy of supporting Libyan militias to prevent refugees from attempting the dangerous Mediterranean crossing.
| Al Ahram adds: |
The Ivorian, however, died in hospital and one of the Malians has also been hospitalised in intensive care.
Those rescued had told Tunisian officials that 86 people were on board their inflatable boat when it left from the Libyan town of Zuwara, west of Tripoli
...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
, on its way to cross the Mediterranean to Italia.