Migrants Locked in Container by Libyan Traffickers Die of Suffocation
Dozens of African migrants were found locked in a shipping container in Libya, including 13 people who had suffocated to death, the Associated Press reported.
They had been trapped in the container for four days by traffickers moving them toward the coast en route to putting them on board boats to Europe.
A 13-year-old and 14-year-old were among the dead, the Libyan Red Crescent said. Many of the survivors had broken limbs.
On the Libyan coast, another 14 bodies washed up on a beach, several days after more than people were found drowned on another stretch of the Libyan shoreline.
Meanwhile, the Italian coastguard said nearly 2,500 people were rescued off the Libyan coast between Feb. 21 and Feb. 23, Reuters reported.
“The situation is more dramatic than ever,” said Mathilde Auvillain, a spokeswoman on board the Aquarius rescue ship operated by SOS Mediterranee and Medecins Sans Frontieres/Doctors without Borders.
Clashes at Anti-Foreigner March in South Africa
Hundreds of people took part in an anti-foreigner march through the South African capital of Pretoria on Friday.
Police used stun grenades, rubber bullets and water cannon after clashes broke out with immigrants who gathered to condemn the march.
The organizers say they oppose the government giving jobs to foreign nationals. South African president Jacob Zuma appealed for calm and urged people not to blame crime on foreigners, the Associated Press reported.
“Many citizens of other countries living in South Africa are law-abiding and contribute to the economy of the country positively,” Zuma said.
The march followed a series of arson attacks on buildings where immigrants live in Johannesburg and Pretoria. No casualties have been reported, and several suspects have been arrested.
Britain Sees Fewer Asylum Claims, Lower Net Migration
The number of immigrants and asylum seekers in the United Kingdom dropped last year, according to government data.
Some 596,000 people arrived in the U.K. in the year to September 2016, while 323,000 people left the country in the same period, the Office for National Statistics said. With fewer people arriving and more leaving, net migration fell by 49,000 from the previous year’s 322,000, according to the data, the BBC reported.
The number of people claiming asylum in the U.K. also fell in 2016, for the first time in six years, according to separate figures from the Home Office, Reuters reported.
About 38,500 people claimed asylum in the U.K. last year, down from 39,968 in 2015. There was a significant decrease in the number of Syrians applying for asylum, down from 2,794 in 2015 to 1,588 last year.
Recommended Reads:
- The Washington Post: The Trickle of Refugees Fleeing the U.S. to Canada Could Become a Deluge in the Spring
- Yahoo News: Refugees in White Coats: How Immigration Ban Could Affect U.S. Health Care
- Reuters: Crayons and Coloring Books Help Boost India’s Child Trafficking Convictions
- IOM: Leaving No One Behind: A Call to Action on Migrant Health
- The Guardian: Belgian Mayor Wins World Prize for Work on Integrating Immigrants