According to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), the vessel overturned in the freezing waters of the central Mediterranean Sea north of Zuwara last Friday. The tragedy is the latest in a long series of fatal incidents involving migrants and refugees attempting the perilous crossing toward Europe, often at the mercy of trafficking networks operating in Libya since the fall of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
Libyan authorities rescued two Nigerian women from the shipwreck. One reported that her husband had drowned, while the other said she had lost both her babies in the disaster.
The survivors told IOM staff that the dinghy had been carrying migrants and refugees from multiple African countries. It reportedly departed Zawiya on Thursday night, began taking on water six hours later, and eventually capsized.
While it remains unclear where the group was headed, many boats departing from western Libya attempt to reach Lampedusa, the Italian island roughly 350 kilometres from Zawiya. Aid agencies have consistently warned that the open rubber boats used by smugglers are wholly unsuitable for such journeys.
IOM’s Missing Migrants Project has recorded at least 375 deaths or disappearances in January alone in the central Mediterranean. The agency cautioned that this figure likely underestimates the true toll, with severe winter weather and unreported shipwrecks contributing to gaps in data.
Smuggling and trafficking networks continue to send people to sea in unsafe vessels, placing thousands at risk. IOM reiterated its call for greater international cooperation, more effective counter‑trafficking efforts, and the expansion of safe, legal pathways for migration.
This year, 781 migrants have already been intercepted and returned to Libya, 244 of them in the past week. This compares with 27 116 returns recorded in 2025, alongside 1 314 deaths or disappearances.
IOM stressed that it does not consider Libya a safe place for migrants, citing ongoing abuses and the discovery of new mass graves and clandestine detention sites.
In a recent raid in Ajdabiya, authorities uncovered mass graves linked to a trafficking operation. “Investigations indicate that the victims had been held in captivity and subjected to torture to coerce ransom payments,” IOM said.
In Kufra, officials found an underground detention site located three metres below ground. A total of 221 migrants and refugees, including women, children, and a one‑month‑old baby, were freed. Initial reports suggest they had been held for an extended period “in grossly inhumane conditions.”
To assist vulnerable migrants, IOM continues to organise voluntary humanitarian flights, enabling people to return to their countries of origin safely. Last week, a group of Pakistani nationals departed Tripoli on such a flight, while in late January the agency assisted 177 Nigerian migrants in returning home.
The UN migration agency is also strengthening work with national and regional authorities to dismantle trafficking networks and support survivors as part of broader efforts to address the root causes of dangerous migration routes.
–UN/ChannelAfrica–
