At Least 25 Migrants Killed in Boat Sinking Off Libya Coast

An overcrowded raft drifts out of control in the central Mediterranean Sea, some 36 nautical miles off the Libyan coast. (Reuters)
An overcrowded raft drifts out of control in the central Mediterranean Sea, some 36 nautical miles off the Libyan coast. (Reuters)
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At Least 25 Migrants Killed in Boat Sinking Off Libya Coast

An overcrowded raft drifts out of control in the central Mediterranean Sea, some 36 nautical miles off the Libyan coast. (Reuters)
An overcrowded raft drifts out of control in the central Mediterranean Sea, some 36 nautical miles off the Libyan coast. (Reuters)

At least 25 migrants died on Saturday after their boat sank off Libya’s western coast, Libyan coastguard officials announced.

Survivors were being brought back to port in Tripoli, they added.

Libya is the main departure point for mostly African migrants trying to cross to Europe. Smugglers usually pack them into flimsy inflatable boats that often break down or sink.

Most migrants are picked up by international vessels and taken to Italy, where more than 115,000 have landed so far this year, although an increasing number are intercepted by Libya’s European-backed coastguard and returned to the North African country.

Since July, there has been a sharp drop in crossings, though this week has seen a renewed surge in departures.

Nearly 3,000 migrants are known to have died or be missing after trying to cross to Europe by sea this year, the majority of them between Libya and Italy.

The International Organization for Migration said on Friday that since 2000 the Mediterranean had been “by far the world’s deadliest border”.

After record arrivals from 2014 to 2016, the European Union’s deal with Turkey to stop arrivals to Greece and blocks on migrants inside Libya and off its coast have greatly reduced the flow, the IIOM added.

Professor Philippe Fargues of the European University Institute in Florence, author of the report, said the figures probably underestimated the actual scale of the human tragedy.

“The report states that at least 33,761 migrants were reported to have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean between the year 2000 to 2017. This number is as of June 30,” IOM’s Jorge Galindo told a Geneva news briefing.

“It concludes that Europe’s Mediterranean border is by far the world’s deadliest,” he said.

So far this year some 161,000 migrants and refugees have arrived in Europe by sea, about 75 percent of them landing in Italy with the rest in Greece, Cyprus and Spain, according to IOM figures. Nearly 3,000 others are dead or missing, it said.

“Shutting the shorter and less dangerous routes can open longer and more dangerous routes, thus increasing the likelihood of dying at sea,” Fargues said.

The report said: “Cooperation with Turkey to stem irregular flows is now being replicated with Libya, the main country of departure of migrants smuggled along the central route; however, such an approach is not only morally reprehensible but likely to be unsuccessful, given the context of extremely poor governance, instability and political fragmentation in Libya.”

Though sea arrivals to Italy are down almost a third this year, this week there was a surge in rescues and attempted crossings.

On Friday, Libya’s EU-backed coastguard intercepted more than 600 mainly sub-Saharan African migrants, including many women and children, from a total of five boats that had left from the coast east of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, coast guard officials said.

On Wednesday and Thursday, Italy’s coast guard said some 1,600 migrants were rescued from nearly 20 vessels in the central Mediterranean.

Libya’s UN-backed government said on Thursday it was investigating reports of African migrants being sold as slaves and promised to bring the perpetrators to justice.

Footage broadcast by CNN appearing to show African migrants being traded in Libya sparked an international outcry and protests in Europe and Africa.



UK Foreign Secretary Visits Syria, Renewing Ties After 14 Years of Conflict

A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) welcoming with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy in the Syrian capital Damascus on July 5, 2025. (SANA / AFP)
A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) welcoming with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy in the Syrian capital Damascus on July 5, 2025. (SANA / AFP)
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UK Foreign Secretary Visits Syria, Renewing Ties After 14 Years of Conflict

A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) welcoming with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy in the Syrian capital Damascus on July 5, 2025. (SANA / AFP)
A handout picture released by the official Syrian Arab News Agency (SANA) shows Syria's interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) welcoming with British Foreign Secretary David Lammy in the Syrian capital Damascus on July 5, 2025. (SANA / AFP)

British Foreign Secretary David Lammy met in Damascus on Saturday with Syria’s interim President Ahmed al-Sharaa, marking the restoration of relations after 14 years of tension during Syria's conflict and Assad family rule.

Syria has been improving relations with Western countries following the fall of President Bashar al-Assad in December in an offensive led by al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group.

Al-Sharaa’s office said Lammy and the president discussed mutual relations and ways of boosting cooperation and the latest regional and international developments. Lammy later met his Syrian counterpart, Asaad al-Shaibani, state media reported.

A statement issued by Britain's foreign office said the visit showed London's commitment to support Syria as the new government seeks to rebuild the country's economy, deliver an inclusive political transition and forge a path to justice for the victims of the Assad government.

It added that there will be new UK funding to assist with the removal of Assad-era chemical weapons and provide urgent humanitarian assistance in Syria, to bolster UK and Middle East security and tackle irregular migration. The statement said the British government wants to ensure that the ISIS group's territorial defeat “endures, and they can never resurge.”

ISIS once controlled large parts of Syria and Iraq, where it planned attacks worldwide. It was defeated in Syria in March 2019 when the extremists lost the last sliver of land they once controlled.

The statement said Britain's support for Syria is set to continue, with the additional 94.5 million pounds ($129 million) package announced Saturday. It will provide urgent humanitarian aid to Syrians, support Syria’s longer-term recovery through education and livelihoods, and support countries hosting Syrian refugees in the region.

This handout photo released by the Lebanese Presidency press office on July 5, 2025 shows Lebanon's President Joseph Aoun (R) receiving British Foreign Secretary David Lammy at the presidential palace in Baabda. (Lebanese Presidency / AFP)

In April, the British government lifted sanctions against a dozen Syrian entities, including government departments and media outlets, to help the country rebuild after Assad's ouster. Weeks earlier, the UK had dropped sanctions against two dozen Syrian businesses, mostly banks and oil companies.

Earlier this week, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order ending many American economic sanctions on Syria, following through on a promise he made to al-Sharaa.

Syria’s new leaders have been struggling to rebuild the country’s decimated economy and infrastructure after nearly 14 years of civil war that has killed half a million people. In recent months, al-Sharaa visited oil-rich regional countries and France in May in his first visit to the Europe Union.

Also on Saturday, Lammy met in Beirut with Lebanese President Joseph Aoun and they discussed the situation along the Lebanon-Israel border following the 14-month Israel-Hezbollah war.

A statement issued by Aoun's office, quoted the Lebanese leader as telling Lammy that Beirut plans to raise the number of Lebanese troops along the border with Israel to 10,000. Aoun added that the only armed sides on the Lebanese side of the border will be Lebanon's national army and UN peacekeepers.