According to the United Nations, 22 Malians have died in another refugee drama off the Libyan coast. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday that the Libyan Coast Guard had rescued 61 survivors from a rubber dinghy that had been in the Mediterranean for nine days.
“According to the survivors, 22 migrants died during the trip, all from Mali,” said IOM spokeswoman Safa Msehli. The victims were said to have drowned or died of thirst. “Among the dead are three children.”
Some of the survivors were rescued in very poor health and taken to hospitals, Msehli said. The other survivors were taken to a Libyan detention center for migrants. The group of refugees was therefore on June 22 in the Libyan port of Suwara near the border with Tunisia.
