Migrant death toll for July reaches 200 in four days
Migration body blames EU inaction for ‘alarming increase’ in drownings
More than 200 migrants have drowned in the Mediterranean Sea this month as migrants and people traffickers rush to beat an anticipated clampdown by the Libyan coastguard and Italian authorities.
The total number of migrants to die attempting the crossing this year is more than 1,000, according to the United Nations.
Othman Belbeisi, the Libya chief of mission at the International Organisation for Migration, reported an “alarming increase” in deaths at sea.
“Smugglers are exploiting the desperation of migrants to leave before there are further crackdowns on Mediterranean crossings by Europe,” he said.
In all, the IOM said 1,405 people have drowned attempting the crossing this year.
EU countries have agreed to do more to stop irregular migrants from reaching the bloc and investigate “disembarkation platforms” to deal with those rescued from the journey, particularly in Italy, Greece and Malta. Thousands of migrants have died trying to reach the EU in recent years.
The agreement came as EU states on the Mediterranean frontier began refusing entry to rescue ships that are saving migrants at risk of drowning. Spain and France have stepped in to take migrants who have been refused entry elsewhere.
Yesterday, a ship carrying 60 migrants arrived in Barcelona after being refused entry by Italy and Malta. It was the second time in recent weeks that an aid group had to move rescued migrants because of a country’s unwillingness to accept them.
The Italian government is blocking private rescue boats that it blames for encouraging human traffickers to launch unseaworthy boats loaded with migrants towards Europe.
But the aid groups deny having links with smugglers, and said they were being forced to leave unattended the busy migrant sea transit route where deaths are mounting.
In another move, Malta stopped a small aircraft used to search for migrant boats from operating out of the country.
The move appeared to be part of efforts by Malta and Italy to make it impossible for non-government organisations to use them as bases to help rescue migrants off Libya.
“From now on no search flights in the area north of the Libyan coast are possible,” German NGO Sea Watch said.
The migration issue is again exposing divisions within the European Union. German Chancellor Angela Merkel performed a U-turn on her liberal migration policy in a bid to save her fragile government.
She agreed to tighten border controls and establish closed “transit centres” to hold migrants on the Austrian border.
The move was criticised by several EU countries, including Austria, Italy and Hungary. But Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban on Tuesday signalled willingness to strike a deal with Mrs Merkel that would limit the arrival of asylum seekers in Germany.
In an interview with German daily Bild, Mr Orban said Budapest was open for talks with Germany if Berlin managed to strike a migration deal with Austria, where Chancellor Sebastian Kurz is, like Mr Orban, an immigration hardliner.
“The order can only be negotiations between Germany and Austria, then negotiations between Austria and Hungary,” Mr Orban said, according to Bild.
“And only at the end, if there really is clarity about the German position, [can there be] negotiations between Hungary and Germany,” Mr Orban said.
According to the IOM, more than 500 people have died trying to cross from Libya since the
Aquarius, another charity rescue ship, was blocked from ports in Italy and Malta last month.
Doctors Without Borders blamed the deaths on the European Union’s inaction.
“The EU is abdicating its responsibility to save lives, blocking search and rescue and condemning people to be trapped in Libya,” the group said on Twitter yesterday.
“Any deaths caused by this are now at their hands.”