ROME - The International Organization for Migration said Wednesday that deaths among maritime migration routes to Europe have more than doubled in the first half of this year compared to the same period in 2020. The organization said Wednesday that at least 1,146 people died attempting to reach Europe in the first six months of 2021. FILE - Migrants queue to embark on a ferry to the mainland, in the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, Italy, June 23, 2021. Because they are economic migrants, she added, they cannot stay in Italy and will be repatriated, likely in early August. However, the organization said, migrants who are returned to Libya are subjected to arbitrary detention, extortion, disappearance and torture.

Source: The North Africa Journal July 14, 2021 15:22 UTC