+15 killed as migrant boat sinks off Libya

Shafaq News – Tripoli

Libyan authorities recovered more than 15 bodies after a migrant boat capsized near the port of Sorman in northwestern Libya, the Red Crescent branch in Sabratha announced on Tuesday.

In a statement, the organization reported that its emergency and recovery teams were dispatched late Monday following an alert from the Security Threats Control Department, retrieving 18 bodies, rescuing more than 90 people, and providing medical and humanitarian assistance on-site.

Libya remains a major departure point for migrants crossing the Mediterranean toward Europe. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) recorded 894,890 migrants from 45 nationalities across 100 Libyan municipalities between May and July 2025.

Among them are increasing numbers of Iraqis who use Libya as a gateway for irregular migration. Rights groups have warned that many are detained in centers run by armed groups and traffickers in western Libya, while families in Iraq have lost contact with their relatives for months.

Read more: A one-way ticket: Iraq's youth bet it all on a migration gamble