The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has said in its latest report that more than 3,000 suspected African illegal migrants have died trying to cross the Mediterranean so far this year alone.

Majority of these illegal migrants are from Sub- Sahara Africa where harsh economic conditions are prevalent as a result of their governments’ mismanagement and corrupt practices.

IOM said the official death toll it was able to record is 3,072 deaths and the illegal migrants had wanted to cross to main land Europe when they met their death. It further added that the exact number of death of illegal migrants is difficult to determine because some countries do not keep accurate data.

“Although vast sums of money are spent collecting migration and border control data, very few agencies collect and publish data on migrant deaths”, the head of Research for IOM said in the report.

Director-General for IOM, William Lacy Swing also said in the report that it is time the world come together to stop this unfortunate deaths, saying illegal migrants are not criminal but are being driven from their countries by necessities.

“It is time to do more than count the number of victims. It is time to engage the world to stop this violence against desperate migrants”.

“Limited opportunities for safe and regular migration drive would-be migrants into the hands of smugglers, feeding an unscrupulous trade that threatens the lives of desperate people. We need to put an end to this cycle. Undocumented migrants are not criminals. They are human beings in need of protection and assistance”, he said.

In the middle of this month, more than 500 suspected illegal African migrants who were trying to reach Europe had their ship wrecked, sinking near the Island of Malta.

The Italian government has said that more than 100,000 illegal migrants have reached Italy this year alone. Most of the migrants try to reach the Islands of Italy or Spain before travelling to mainland Europe.

It is believed that more than 40,000 migrants have died since the year 2000 and as many as 22,000 were trying to reach Europe.

African illegal migrants, mostly from Sub-Saharan Africa often use dangerous boats to try to reach Europe and other wealthy countries in the Middle East. And most of these dangerous missions end up in disaster.

Issaka Adams / NationalTurk Africa News

Writer’s Email Address: Adamsisska@googlemail.com

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