At least 50 people have died after a fire on a refugee vessel near Libya. Separately, an Italian humanitarian organisation has submitted new evidence to a court in Sicily detailing human rights violations by EU-supported Libyan military personnel.
By Vatican News
The International Organisation for Migration has said that at least 50 people have died after a vessel carrying Sudanese refugees caught fire off Libya’s coast on Sunday. The IOM said that it had provided medical support to 24 survivors.
Since the fall of dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has become a transit route for migrants fleeing to Europe across the Mediterranean. As of February 2025, around 86,000 migrants from 44 countries were residing in Libya.
Human rights violations by government forces
Separately, Italian humanitarian organisation Mediterranea Saving Humans has submitted new evidence to a court in Sicily that it says details human rights violations by EU-supported Libyan military personnel.
The organisation, which rescues refugees in the Mediterranean Sea, was long supported by the late Pope Francis.
The case concerns ten refugees who Mediterranea says were thrown overboard off the Libyan coast, allegedly by soldiers of the 111th Brigade, which is linked to the internationally recognised government in Tripoli.
Mediterranea has published photographs and video footage that it says directly implicate individuals connected to Libyan state forces, trained and funded with Italian support. The organisation accuses European governments of knowingly cooperating with groups involved in trafficking, in violation of international law.
Mediterranea has submitted the evidence, including the identities of those it says were involved, to the International Criminal Court.
