Agencies have reported mass casualties off Tobruk after a boat capsized and another caught fire over the weekend
Two maritime tragedies off the coast of Libya have left over 110 Sudanese refugees dead or missing, UN agencies have reported.
On Wednesday, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Libya confirmed that a vessel carrying 74 people had capsized on Saturday off the coast of Tobruk. Only 13 survived the incident, while dozens remain missing.
“UNHCR is deeply saddened by a second tragic boat incident off Tobruk,” the agency reported on X. It noted that the victims were primarily Sudanese refugees who had been attempting to cross the Mediterranean.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has reported a separate shipwreck that occurred on Sunday. According to the IOM, at least 50 people died when a boat carrying 75 Sudanese refugees who were heading for Greece caught fire off the Libyan coast. The agency said it had provided emergency medical assistance to 24 survivors.
“Urgent action is needed to end such tragedies at sea,” the IOM stressed.
Sudanese nationals currently represent a significant portion of those attempting the perilous journey across the Mediterranean. Their movement is driven by the ongoing conflict in Sudan, where hostilities between the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) and the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) have escalated since April 2023. The country faces what the UN has called the world’s worst humanitarian crisis, with thousands killed and millions displaced.
On Thursday, the UNHCR in West and Central Africa reported that over 877,000 Sudanese refugees have crossed into Chad alone since the outbreak of violence. Earlier in September, the agency announced that around 12 million people have been forcibly displaced across the country.
The UN migration agency has listed Libya, which remains a main transit point for migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East, as one of the most dangerous routes to reach Europe by sea. IOM data show 317 confirmed deaths and 286 missing along the Central Mediterranean route between January and early August 2025. Around 14,000 migrants were intercepted at sea and returned to Libya by the coast guard in the same period, Libya Review reported.
