Over a hundred refugees from Sudan die in two shipwrecks off Libya

Over a hundred Sudanese refugees have died or are missing after two consecutive shipwrecks off the coast of Libya at the weekend, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) have said.

The UNHCR in Libya announced on Wednesday that only 13 people survived after a vessel carrying 74 people, mostly Sudanese refugees, capsized on Saturday off the coast of the eastern Libyan town of Tobruk.

Dozens remain missing, the UN body said, offering its condolences to the families.

"Each life lost is a reminder of the urgent need for safe pathways, stronger protection, and continued international support for people fleeing persecution, war, and conflict," the UNHCR said in a post on X after a first deadly accident was reported by the IOM on Tuesday.

“The IOM is deeply saddened by the tragic loss of life after a vessel carrying 75 Sudanese refugees caught fire off Libya's coast on [Sunday]. At least 50 lives were lost,” the IOM said.

“Urgent action is needed to end such tragedies at sea," it added.

Between 1 January and 13 September, 456 people lost their lives and 420 were reported missing along the central Mediterranean sea route, the world's most dangerous for migrants, the IOM said.

The UN organisations did not specify whether women and children were among the victims of the two shipwrecks.

“Because safe and legal pathways are available to only a very small number of people, the real solution is to end the war in Sudan so families can return home in safety and not take these dangerous journeys,” the UNHCR said.

Human trafficking and torture in Libya

The war in Sudan between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces has forced more than 140,000 refugees into Libya in the past two years. Most of them enter via the land border in the Kufra area, in the southeast of the country controlled by eastern Libyan commander Khalifa Haftar.

Libya, which hosts around 867,055 people seeking asylum or a better life abroad, has emerged as a major transit route for migrants and refugees from sub-Saharan Africa fleeing war and poverty in their countries and seeking to reach Europe clandestinely.

Libya is located approximately 300km from the Italian coast on the west side and 500km from Greece on the east.

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During the rule of former leader Muammar Gaddafi, African migrant workers could find employment in the oil-rich country.

But since his ousting in 2011, Libya has been mired in armed conflict among rival militias and is divided between two rival governments, making the situation even more difficult for refugees.

Rights groups and UN agencies have documented systematic abuses against them in Libya, both inside and outside detention centres, including human trafficking, arbitrary detention, torture, rape, slavery, abduction and extortion.

Nevertheless, in recent years the European Union has stepped up efforts to reduce migration to its shores from Libya, including by providing equipment, training and financial support to the Libyan coast guard, an organisation linked to militias accused of various abuses.

Last month, the humanitarian NGO SOS Mediterranee said that the Libyan coast guard fired upon its vessel, Ocean Viking, as it searched for a refugee boat in distress.

“This is far from isolated: the Libyan Coast Guard has a long history of reckless behaviour that endangers people at sea, flagrantly violates human rights and shows total disregard for international maritime law,” the NGO said.

Human rights organisations including Amnesty International have accused European governments of actively supporting a system of abuse and exploitation of refugees and migrants by the Libyan coast guard, detention authorities and smugglers in order to prevent people from crossing the Mediterranean.