At least 20 refugees and migrants die in shipwreck off Italy's Lampedusa
Rescue services on Wednesday found 20 bodies, while 60 survivors, 56 men and four women, were brought ashore to Lampedusa, according to the Italian Red Cross and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).
The disaster, involving people travelling from Libya, was the latest to befall refugees and migrants making the perilous Mediterranean crossing from Africa to Europe.
Rights groups and UN agencies have also documented systematic abuse against refugees and migrants in Libya, including torture, rape and extortion. In February, Libyan authorities uncovered nearly 50 bodies from two mass graves in the country's southeastern desert, in the latest horror involving people seeking to make it to Europe through the North African country.
Since the beginning of this year, 675 people have died in the central Mediterranean while trying to make the crossing, said Filippo Ungaro, a UNHCR spokesperson in Italy.
An Italian law enforcement aircraft spotted a capsized boat with bodies in the water about 23km (14 miles) off Lampedusa on Wednesday morning, triggering a rescue operation, a source close to the matter told the Reuters news agency.
The Reuters source said that based on initial accounts from the rescued people, they departed from the Tripoli area in Libya in the early morning aboard two boats. One of the boats began taking on water, and they transferred to the other vessel, which later capsized in rough waters.
Initial UNHCR figures suggested that 92 to 97 people were in the group, indicating as many as 17 people were missing.
Cristina Palma, who works for the Italian Red Cross in Lampedusa, said in a video statement that the survivors were in 'decent' health, but four of them had been hospitalised for checks.
Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing government has vowed to block the refugee and migrant sea journeys from Africa and has passed measures against human smugglers, including tougher jail terms, and has urged allies to do more to curb the migration attempts.
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Al Jazeera
3 days ago
- Al Jazeera
At least 20 refugees and migrants die in shipwreck off Italy's Lampedusa
At least 20 people have died in a shipwreck off the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, and a United Nations agency says more refugees and migrants could be missing as search operations continue. Rescue services on Wednesday found 20 bodies, while 60 survivors, 56 men and four women, were brought ashore to Lampedusa, according to the Italian Red Cross and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). The disaster, involving people travelling from Libya, was the latest to befall refugees and migrants making the perilous Mediterranean crossing from Africa to Europe. Rights groups and UN agencies have also documented systematic abuse against refugees and migrants in Libya, including torture, rape and extortion. In February, Libyan authorities uncovered nearly 50 bodies from two mass graves in the country's southeastern desert, in the latest horror involving people seeking to make it to Europe through the North African country. Since the beginning of this year, 675 people have died in the central Mediterranean while trying to make the crossing, said Filippo Ungaro, a UNHCR spokesperson in Italy. An Italian law enforcement aircraft spotted a capsized boat with bodies in the water about 23km (14 miles) off Lampedusa on Wednesday morning, triggering a rescue operation, a source close to the matter told the Reuters news agency. The Reuters source said that based on initial accounts from the rescued people, they departed from the Tripoli area in Libya in the early morning aboard two boats. One of the boats began taking on water, and they transferred to the other vessel, which later capsized in rough waters. Initial UNHCR figures suggested that 92 to 97 people were in the group, indicating as many as 17 people were missing. Cristina Palma, who works for the Italian Red Cross in Lampedusa, said in a video statement that the survivors were in 'decent' health, but four of them had been hospitalised for checks. Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni's right-wing government has vowed to block the refugee and migrant sea journeys from Africa and has passed measures against human smugglers, including tougher jail terms, and has urged allies to do more to curb the migration attempts.
Al Jazeera
5 days ago
- Al Jazeera
Refugees in Kenya impacted by food aid cuts; WFP rolls out new system
The World Food Programme (WFP) has said it will need to drastically cut rations to refugees in Kenya due to reductions in global aid, including major funding cuts from the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Residents of the Kakuma and Dadaab refugee camps were beginning to feel the impact of food aid cuts on Monday as the WFP implemented a new assistance system there in which certain groups are prioritised over others. The WFP said aid is being cut by 60 percent for the most vulnerable groups, including pregnant women and disabled people, and by 80 percent for refugees with some kind of income. The two camps host nearly 800,000 people fleeing conflict and drought in Somalia and South Sudan, according to the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). 'WFP's operations supporting refugees in Kenya are under immense strain,' Baimankay Sankoh, WFP's deputy country director in Kenya, said in May. 'With available resources stretched to their limits, we have had to make the difficult decision to again reduce food assistance. This will have a serious impact on vulnerable refugees, increasing the risk of hunger and malnutrition.' 'There has been a lot of tension in the last couple of weeks or so,' Al Jazeera's Catherine Soi said, reporting from Kakuma. 'People were very angry about what WFP is calling the priority food distribution, where some people will not get food at all and others are going to get a small fraction of the food.' These tensions boiled over, triggering protests last week, which left one person dead and several others injured, said Soi, adding that WFP officials she spoke with said the aid cuts from organisations like USAID meant they have had to make 'very difficult decisions about who gets to eat and who doesn't'. WFP worker Thomas Chica explained to Soi that the new system was rolled out after assessments were conducted by WFP and its partners. Refugees are now assessed based on their needs, rather than their status, said Chica. 'We need to look at them separately and differently and see how best we can channel the system so that it provides.' The impact of these cuts is severe amid concerns over malnutrition. The Global Acute Malnutrition (GAM) rate among refugee children and pregnant or breastfeeding women in Kenya is above 13 percent. A GAM rate over 10 percent is classed as a nutrition emergency. 'Already the food that is being issued is quite low, 40 percent of the recommended ration, and this is being shared by a bigger chunk of the population,' Chica said, adding that stocks will therefore not last as long as hoped. This reduction took effect in February and is based on a daily recommended intake of 2,100kcal. With its current resources dating from last year, WFP will only be able to provide assistance until December or January, said Chica. WFP said in May that $44m was required to provide full rations and restore cash assistance for all refugees just through August.
Qatar Tribune
6 days ago
- Qatar Tribune
Thousands protest against plans for world's longest bridge in Sicily
agencies Thousands of people have marched in Sicily to protest against a government plan to build a bridge that would connect the Italian mainland to the Mediterranean island, and would be the world's longest single-span bridge. Some 10,000 demonstrators marched in the Sicilian city of Messina on Saturday to stage their opposition to the 13.5-billion-euro ($15.7bn) infrastructure project. Residents are against the proposed Strait of Messina Bridge project over its scale, earthquake threats, environmental effect, and potential mafia interference. The idea to build the bridge has been debated for decades. This week, however, it saw a major step forward when a government committee overseeing strategic public investments approved the plan. Transport Minister Matteo Salvini called it 'the biggest infrastructure project in the West'. Salvini cited studies estimating the project would create up to 120,000 jobs annually and help stimulate economic growth in lagging southern Italy, as billions more are invested in surrounding road and infrastructure improvements. Critics, however, are not convinced, and angered that about 500 families would have to be expropriated for the bridge to be built. Salvini says such families will be compensated. 'The Strait of Messina can't be touched,' protesters shouted as they marched in Messina. Many carried banners that said 'No Ponte' (No Bridge). 'They could offer me three times the value of my house, but that doesn't matter to me. What matters is the landscape. They must not touch the Strait of Messina,' Mariolina De Francesco, a 75-year-old resident of Messina whose house lies near the site of one of the bridge's planned 399-metre- (440-yard-)tall land towers, told The Associated Press news agency. 'Our lawyers will take action, and we will stop them. That's guaranteed.' The proposed bridge would span nearly 3.7km (2.3 miles) with a suspended section of 3.3km (more than 2 miles). It would surpass Turkiye's Canakkale Bridge by 1,277 metres (1,400 yards) to become the longest suspension bridge in the world. Preliminary work could begin in late September or early October, pending approval from Italy's Court of Audit. Full construction is scheduled to begin in 2026, with completion planned between 2032 and 2033. The bridge would reduce the time to cross the strait by ferry, usually up to 100 minutes, to 10 minutes by car. Trains would save 2.5 hours in transit time, Salvini said. The project could also support Italy's commitment to raise defence spending to 5 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) targeted by NATO, as the government has indicated it would classify the bridge as defence-related. Italy argues that the bridge would form a strategic corridor for rapid troop movements and equipment deployment, qualifying it as 'security-enhancing infrastructure'. Environmental groups, however, have lodged complaints with the European Union, citing concerns that the project would affect migratory birds. Italy's president has also insisted that the project remain subject to anti-mafia legislation that applies to all large-scale infrastructure projects.
