Hundreds of Migrants Have Disappeared in the Mediterranean Last Week

The bodies of at least 65 more illegal migrants attempting to reach Europe via the Mediterranean Sea have been found. International officials say that likely over 700 people have lost their lives just in the past week. Most of those who have disappeared in the Mediterranean were passengers on three boats that recently capsized. Images of one of the capsized boats, published a few days ago, and the efforts of the Italian Navy to rescue those who fell into the water have been widely shared on social media and in the media. Rescuers have managed to save 560 people, but nearly 100 of those who were on the overcrowded boat are still considered missing, which likely means they have drowned. On Thursday, another boat with at least 670 passengers sank in the Mediterranean, of which only 104 were rescued, 15 bodies have been found, and 550 are still missing. The next day, on Friday, June 7, another boat capsized, and it is unclear how many illegal migrants were on it, but the bodies of 45 people have been found so far. Federico Fusi, a spokesperson for the UN Refugee Agency, told reporters on June 9 that most of the migrants involved in recent incidents are from Somalia, Eritrea, and Sudan. Somalia is under attack from the extremist group Al-Shabaab. According to the UN, conflicts and tensions, including in Darfur, continue in Sudan, and Eritrean citizens are fleeing military service or other pressures in their country. In recent months of this year, at least 1,470 illegal migrants and refugees have drowned in the Mediterranean. However, this number does not yet include last week's statistics, and if the deaths of nearly 700 refugees in recent days are confirmed, the death toll will exceed 2,000. This comes as the summer season approaches, and the attempts of boat migrants to cross the Mediterranean and reach Southern Europe are likely to increase. The leaders of the seven largest economies in the world, known as the G7, described the crisis caused by migrants and refugees as a global challenge at the end of their official meetings in Japan on June 7, and they stated their commitment to 'increase global assistance to meet the immediate and long-term needs of refugees and migrants and others who have been forced to leave their homes.' Last year, due to various crises, including the Syrian civil war, violent conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, tensions in Africa, and worsening economic conditions for the impoverished, 1.3 million people reached the European continent. At least 1,300 people also drowned at sea last year.