UN report: At least 252 people killed due to pushbacks by European authorities

The United Nations Migration Organization recorded 5,686 deaths on escape routes in the Mediterranean from 2021 to September 2022.

More than 5,600 migrants have died fleeing North Africa to Europe and on escape routes within Europe since the beginning of 2021. This was announced by the United Nations Migration Organization (International Organization for Migration) on Tuesday with. The number of deaths on escape routes across the Mediterranean and overland increased compared to similar periods of the previous year. From early 2021 to September 2022, the International Organization for Migration recorded 5,684 deaths.

More than 29,000 people have died on these roads since 2014. For the majority, 17,000, it was not even possible to determine the country of origin. Countless families are still in the dark about what happened to their relatives. The International Organization for Migration wrote that many deaths could have been avoided with immediate assistance. Most of those identified are from Syria, followed by Moroccans and Algerians.

Difficult to verify reports from survivors

Citing survivors, the International Organization for Migration reported that at least 252 people died after being harassed by representatives of the European authorities in the so-called bodice They were pushed to where they came from. 97 people died on the way from Libya through the Mediterranean to Europe, 70 in the eastern Mediterranean, 58 on the Turkish-Greek land border, 23 in the western Mediterranean, and four on the Belarus-Poland border. The International Organization for Migration stresses that it is difficult to verify the accounts of survivors. Assume that the real numbers are much higher.

The International Organization for Migration has been collecting figures since 2014 for the “Missing Migrants Project”. Data are collected and evaluated in Berlin.

(APA/DSPA)