Nearly 3,800 people died on migration routes within and from the Middle East and North Africa last year, the highest number recorded there since 2017, according to data published on Tuesday by the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), Reuters reports. The United Nations migration agency's Missing Migrants Project (MMP) recorded 3,789 deaths in 2022 along sea and land routes in the region, including crossings of the Sahara Desert and Mediterranean Sea. IOM said the highest number of deaths on land routes in the region last year was recorded in war-torn Yemen, where the Agency said that targeted violence against migrants had increased. On sea routes from the region to Europe, IOM recorded an increase in deadly incidents on boats travelling to Greece and Italy from Lebanon. "As many as 84 per cent of those who perished along sea routes remain unidentified, leaving desperate families in search of answers," the IOM report said.

Source: The North Africa Journal June 13, 2023 17:07 UTC