Some 350 Eritreans were among
the 850 people who perished in the migrant boat that sank off
the coast of Libya on Saturday night, a United Nations
spokesperson said on Tuesday.
U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees spokesperson Adrian
Edwards said, "according to survivors heard by UNHCR, the boat
left Tripoli, Libya on Saturday with approximately 850 people
and many children. Among the people on board, there were 350
Eritreans, and (others) from Syria, Somalia, Sierra Leone, Mali,
Senegal, Gambia, Ivory Coast and Ethiopia".
The European Union is in the process of deciding a course
of action targeting human traffickers in the Mediterranean in
the wake of migrant-boat disaster.
On Monday, the European Commission presented a 10-point
plan including destroying smugglers' boats on the Libyan coast.
Italy unveiled a five-point plan on Tuesday which includes a
similar approach to destroying smuggler boats and the possible
use of drones.
Proposals will be examined by a special EU summit Thursday.
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