Land migration in Africa twice as deadly as Mediterranean, says UNHCR
Baku, November 4, AZERTAC
UNHCR's special envoy for the central Mediterranean Vincent Cochetel said in an interview with the German newspaper Welt am Sonntag that around twice as many migrants die crossing Africa as crossing the Mediterranean, according to DW.
"We assume that at least two times as many people probably die on their way to the Mediterranean Sea as in the sea itself," he said. The actual number could "also be much higher," he said. The exact numbers could not be provided. But it is a tragedy," he added.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has identified transportation accidents, dehydration, violence, starvation and illness as the primary causes of death via land routes in 2018, the paper reported.
In October, the UNHCR reported that more than 1,000 individuals had drowned while trying to cross the Mediterranean that month. The refugee agency registered a total of 2,277 dead or missing in 2018.
According to IOM, around 19,000 people died crossing the Mediterranean between 2014 and the end of October.
However, both agencies pointed out that a high number of unreported cases could make the totals significantly higher.
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