IOM says at least 50 dead after vessel carrying Sudanese refugees caught fire off Libya

TRIPOLI — The International Organisation for Migration said on Tuesday (Sept 16) that at least 50 people had died after a vessel carrying 75 Sudanese refugees caught fire off Libya's coast on Sunday.

The IOM said it had provided medical support to 24 survivors.

Libya has become a transit route for migrants fleeing conflict and poverty to Europe across the Mediterranean since the fall in 2011 of dictator Muammar Gaddafi during a Nato-backed uprising.

As of February 2025, around 867,055 migrants from 44 nationalities were residing in Libya, according to IOM data.

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