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Protests against the rule of Col. Muammar Gaddafy, and subsequent fighting, have led thousands of third‐country nationals to flee by road, air or sea. According to the International Organization for Migration ( IOM ), of the nearly 1.2m people who have fled Libya since the start of the crisis, just over half are migrant workers, many of whom have witnessed, or were involved in, traumatic events before escaping. Some make dangerous journeys in small boats to reach the Italian island of Lampedusa, where they are processed by the Italian police before receiving visas and being sent to other sites in Italy. Various aid organizations are active on the island and play a critical role in helping the migrants. (IRIN 11/7) Twenty‐five Eritrean and Congolese refugees have been assisted by IOM, UNHCR and the government of Belgium to travel to and resettle in Belgium. The resettled refugees, who arrived in Belgium on July 17th, had fled the violence in Libya and crossed into Tunisia , where they stayed at the UNHCR‐run Choucha refugee camp while waiting for resettlement opportunities. “These persons are in need of protection, I am proud that Belgium, like other European Countries, is taking up its responsibilities. Protecting those in need is not only an international obligation but it is our moral duty,” said Belgium’s State Secretary for Migration and Asylum Policy Melchior Wathelet . This resettlement project is funded by the European Refugee fund ( ERF ). Other EU Member states such as the Netherlands, Ireland and Portuga l are also taking part in this resettlement programme. (International Office of Migration 19/7) Sudan – Saudi Arabia About 200 trafficked people, most of them thought to be Somali migrants fleeing the drought, have died after their boat caught fire off the coast of Sudan. On July 5th “197 people from neighbouring countries drowned in the Red Sea, inside Sudanese territorial waters, following the burning of a boat that was illegally transporting them to Saudi Arabia,” the semi‐official Sudan Media Centre said, citing officials. SMC quoted authorities in Sudan’s Red Sea state as saying only three people had been rescued, but that the search for more survivors was ongoing. They said the people‐trafficking operation was planned and implemented in the locality of Tokar, which is about 150 km (93 miles) south of Port Sudan, near the border with Eritrea , and that four Yemenis , who allegedly owned the Cuban‐flagged boat, had been arrested. A separate attempt to smuggle 247 migrants, mostly from Somalia, Eritrea, Chad , and Nigeria , also through Sudan’s coastal region of Tokar, had been foiled, according to the same report. With an 875 km (550 mile) coastline and long borders with Eritrea, Ethiopia, Chad and Egypt , Sudan is a key transiting country for many African migrants attempting to reach the Arabian peninsula by boat, or overland to Israel . Since 2008, well over 1,000 people have failed to survive the Red Sea crossing, according to the UN. The UN refugee agency ( UNHCR ) estimates there are more than 100,000 Eritrean refugees in northern Sudan, most of them living in camps along the country’s border with its eastern neighbour. (© AFP, Khartoum 5/7 ) Probe into migrant drownings p. 18889
Africa Research Bulletin: Political, Social and Cultural Series – Wiley
Published: Aug 1, 2011
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