More than 45 Darfuris drown in Mediterranean

More than 45 people from Darfur died today when the boat carrying them from Libya to Europe sank.

Salaheldin Yahya, spokesman for the Association of Darfuris in Libya, reported to Radio Dabanga from Benghazi that most of the group, who paid large sums of money to be smuggled to Europe by sea, were from Darfur. Others came from other parts of Sudan and other African countries.

He explained that a first group embarked at El Zawya on the Libyan coast on Saturday, while others joined them early this morning.

“The bodies could be located by GPS,” he said, saying that not all victims have been identified. For this reason, he advised people in Darfur and the rest of Sudan to contact their relatives in Libya, to check whether they were on the boat.

The spokesman said that the security situation in Libya is worsening rapidly.

“After a group of 21 Egyptians were killed by Libyan extremists last month, many Sudanese stranded in Libya decided to seek refuge in Europe. In particular Darfuris try to escape from Libya in this way, as they will not find a better and safer situation in their homeland.”