IOM: Nearly 100 Dead or Missing Migrants in Mediterranean So Far in 2024

Migrants from Syria and Bangladesh are assisted on January 18, 2024 by a rescue team from the Spanish NGO Open Arms, off the Libyan coast, in international waters of the central Mediterranean. (AFP)
Migrants from Syria and Bangladesh are assisted on January 18, 2024 by a rescue team from the Spanish NGO Open Arms, off the Libyan coast, in international waters of the central Mediterranean. (AFP)
TT
20

IOM: Nearly 100 Dead or Missing Migrants in Mediterranean So Far in 2024

Migrants from Syria and Bangladesh are assisted on January 18, 2024 by a rescue team from the Spanish NGO Open Arms, off the Libyan coast, in international waters of the central Mediterranean. (AFP)
Migrants from Syria and Bangladesh are assisted on January 18, 2024 by a rescue team from the Spanish NGO Open Arms, off the Libyan coast, in international waters of the central Mediterranean. (AFP)

Nearly 100 migrants have died or disappeared in the central and eastern Mediterranean since the beginning of 2024, more than double the toll recorded last year during the same period, the UN migration agency said on Monday.

The comment was made during an Italy-Africa Conference in Rome attended by more than two dozen African leaders and European Union officials to discuss economic ties and ways to curb undocumented migration to Europe.

"The latest record of deaths and disappearances is a stark reminder that a comprehensive approach that includes safe and regular pathways... is the only solution that will benefit migrants and states alike," said Amy Pope, director general of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

IOM's Missing Migrants Project found that 3,041 migrants were dead or went missing in the Mediterranean last year - a significant increase over the 2,411 toll in 2022.

Earlier this month, some 40 Tunisian migrants went missing after setting off in a boat toward the Italian coast.

Tunisia has replaced Libya as a main departure point for Mediterranean crossings for people fleeing poverty and conflict.



US Moving Fighter Jets to Middle East as Israel-Iran War Rages

This handout grab taken from footage released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) on June 11, 2025 shows the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) conducting flight operations in the South China Sea, on May 28, 2025. (AFP Photo / DVIDS / Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Edward Jacome - Handout)
This handout grab taken from footage released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) on June 11, 2025 shows the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) conducting flight operations in the South China Sea, on May 28, 2025. (AFP Photo / DVIDS / Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Edward Jacome - Handout)
TT
20

US Moving Fighter Jets to Middle East as Israel-Iran War Rages

This handout grab taken from footage released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) on June 11, 2025 shows the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) conducting flight operations in the South China Sea, on May 28, 2025. (AFP Photo / DVIDS / Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Edward Jacome - Handout)
This handout grab taken from footage released by the US Defense Visual Information Distribution Service (DVIDS) on June 11, 2025 shows the aircraft carrier USS Nimitz (CVN 68) conducting flight operations in the South China Sea, on May 28, 2025. (AFP Photo / DVIDS / Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Edward Jacome - Handout)

The US military is deploying more fighter aircraft to the Middle East and extending the deployment of other warplanes, bolstering US military forces in the region as the war between Israel and Iran rages, three US officials said.

One of the officials said the deployments include F-16, F-22 and F-35 fighter aircraft.

Two of the officials stressed the defensive nature of the deployment of fighter aircraft, which have been used to shoot down drones and projectiles.

The Pentagon did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Reuters was first to report on Monday the movement of a large number of tanker aircraft to Europe as well as the deployment of an aircraft carrier to the Middle East, providing options to President Donald Trump as Middle East tensions soar.

US Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth described the deployments as defensive in nature, as Washington looks to safeguard forces in the Middle East from potential blowback from Iran and Iran-aligned forces in the region.

A fourth US defense official on Tuesday raised the possibility of the deployment to the Eastern Mediterranean of additional US Navy warships capable of shooting down ballistic missiles.

The United States already has a sizeable force in the Middle East, with nearly 40,000 troops in the region, including air defense systems, fighter aircraft and warships that can detect and shoot down enemy missiles.

Israel launched its air war, its largest ever on Iran, on Friday after saying it concluded Iran was on the verge of developing a nuclear weapon.

Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons and has pointed to its right to nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, including enrichment, as a party to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.