Every year, hundreds of people go missing on their way to Europe. While the Mediterranean Sea is infamous for being one of the deadliest migration routes, other places such as the Sahara desert are also extremely dangerous. InfoMigrants spoke with Lucile Marbeau, spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Tens of thousands of Ethiopian migrants are being deported from Saudi Arabia. They tell of being detained for months in miserable conditions. At home, they face an uncertain future.
UNHCR reports that over 3,000 people either died or went missing while trying to reach Europe via sea in 2021. The UN agency has asked for urgent measures to ward off an increase in people losing their lives on these journeys.
German police have found four Afghan boys and men hiding in the loading area of a truck. The Romanian driver reportedly heard sounds and informed the police.
In the eastern Pyrenees, on the border between France and Spain, the number of migrants arriving is increasing. French authorities said they intercepted a record number of 13,000 people in 2021 in Cerbère, the first French village after the border. In the nearest big city Perpignan, associations helping migrants say they are overwhelmed.
At least 11 people are dead after their boat sank off the coast of Tunisia on Wednesday. Among the victims was a girl about 10 years old.
The UN migration agency has said that 4,470 migrants died along migration routes worldwide in 2021, exceeding the 4,236 deaths registered in 2020.
Many of the hundreds of migrants crossing the border between Belarus and Poland report having suffered mistreatment and abuse at the hands of authorities. InfoMigrants recorded the stories of two men who traveled from central Africa to seek protection in Germany.
The Italian coast guard rescued nearly 250 migrants, including a newborn baby, from a fishing boat drifting a few miles off the Calabrian coast at the weekend. The rescue operation was complicated by rough weather conditions.
While most migrant journeys across the Mediterranean tend to focus on using the shortest route to the EU, there is a new route opening up to Italy's Calabria region, which only a select few can afford. Criminal gangs meanwhile are making huge profits from exploiting people fleeing persecution.
Ukraine has fortified its border with Belarus, fearing that migrants stuck in the isolated country might try to reach Ukraine next. Its ambassador to Germany said that there may be political reasons for Russia's support of Belarus in the crisis.
Polish security authority have detained about 100 migrants who entered Poland across the Belarusian border. Meanwhile, G7 foreign ministers have urged the government in Minsk to bring an end to the crisis situation.