50 migrants, mostly from sub-Sahara Africa, were rescued by the Tunisian navy on Monday off the coast of Tunisia after five days at sea. One of their number, a new-born baby, was found dead as the authorities arrived.
Over 80 migrants, including women and children, were taken back to Libya within 24 hours by Libyan coast guards, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) tweeted on January 4. The UN agency also said it provided assistance to another 79 people who were returned to Libya by coast guards, while "eight others are reported missing at sea."
The Spanish rescue group Open Arms has rescued around 170 people from the Mediterranean Sea. Several small children were in the boat drifting off the coast of Libya.
Having been separated for months, a woman from Ivory Coast and her five-year-old son have been reunited in the Italian city of Reggio Emilia. They were helped by the determination and compassion of a young woman.
The European sea rescue organization SOS Mediterranee says a growing proportion of migrants picked up at sea are under 18 and traveling alone. The journey across the Mediterranean is especially dangerous for children, according to the NGO.
The bodies of four children have been found washed ashore west of Tripoli. Aid workers say they were on a migrant boat that sank on the high sea on Wednesday.
The Tunisian Navy announced on Tuesday that it had intercepted 93 African migrants in the Mediterranean during an attempt to cross to Europe.
An association working on the Sicilian island of Lampedusa, promoting solidarity between migrants and the local community, has denounced conditions in the migrant hotspot there. The association says that the hotspot has "inadequate hygiene and sanitary conditions," and lacks "the necessities to guarantee the basic well-being of people."
The NGO is launching an additional vessel amid a spike in the number of migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean Sea. Some 900 people have drowned making the treacherous journey from North Africa to Europe.
Rescue workers are still looking for survivors after a vessel carrying more than 120 migrants shipwrecked in the Mediterranean. The United Nations has recorded a recent uptick in departures from Libya since October.
Italian vessels and airplanes could be deployed to monitor international waters off Tunisia in order to report to authorities in the North African country the departure of migrant boats. The plan, proposed by Italy, was discussed by Italian Interior Minister Luciana Lamorgese and her French counterpart Gerald Darmanin during a meeting held on November 7 in Rome.
At least 15 migrants have died in a shipwreck off the Libyan coast and five survivors were brought to shore by fishermen, according to the UN migration agency IOM.