At least 50 dead after vessel carrying Sudanese refugees catches fire

At least 50 people have died after a vessel carrying 75 Sudanese refugees caught fire near the Libyan coast on Sunday, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

The United Nations migration agency said on Tuesday that it has provided medical support to 24 survivors.

“Urgent action is needed to end such tragedies at sea,” IOM’s Libya chapter posted on X.

Last month, at least 68 refugees and migrants died and dozens went missing after a boat capsized off the coast of Yemen, according to the IOM.

At least 2,452 migrants or refugees died or went missing in the Mediterranean Sea last year, according to the IOM, making it one of the deadliest routes for refugees.

Libya, home to around 867,055 migrants, has emerged as a transit route for migrants or refugees trying to reach Europe since the fall of Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

During Gaddafi’s rule, African migrants found work in the oil-rich country. But since his ouster, Libya has been mired in armed conflict among rival militias.

The disaster was the latest to befall refugees and migrants making the perilous Mediterranean crossing from Africa to Europe.

In August, at least 27 people died after two boats sank off the southern Italian island of Lampedusa, while in June, at least 60 refugees and migrants were feared missing and drowned at sea after two shipwrecks off the coast of Libya.

Rights groups and UN agencies have documented systematic abuse against refugees and migrants in Libya, including torture, rape and extortion.

In recent years, the European Union has stepped up efforts to reduce such migration, including by providing equipment and financial support to the Libyan coastguard, a quasi-military organisation linked to militias accused of abuses and other crimes.

NGOs say the phasing out of state-run search-and-rescue operations has made journeys across the Mediterranean Sea more dangerous.

They have also denounced what they see as punitive action by states against charities operating in the Mediterranean.