Renewed violence in the Ituri province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is forcing mass displacement from a region where authorities are struggling to contain the Ebola outbreak. Congolese President Felix Tshisekedi, who visited the area recently, estimated that some 400,000 persons are displaced throughout Ituri Province. The International Organization…
This week’s drama aboard a Turkish oil tanker with 108 rescued migrants aboard illustrated yet again the desperation of those seeking to flee the lawlessness of Libya on dangerous routes across the Mediterranean – and now there’s some evidence that Libyan officials, tasked with the rescues, don’t respond when called…
There may be a sliver of a silver lining for Ethiopian migrants in Djibouti, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations agency for refugees and migrants. More of them want to go home. The IOM Djibouti staff says that a tragic accident in January near Godoria…
More than 130 migrants went missing on Tuesday morning when two boats capsized off the coast of Djibouti. The International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations agency for refugees and migrants, said the boats capsized about 30 minutes after leaving shore because they were overloaded as they headed into…
More than 400 Ethiopian migrants who have been stranded in Yemen are headed home, as the International Organization for Migration (IOM) begins flights to take them to Addis Ababa. The first group of 102 Ethiopians landed in Addis Ababa on Monday, with another 316 arriving by Thursday through a Voluntary…
The Government of Morocco, under pressure to stem the tide of African migrants crossing into Spain, has established new entry visa rules for travelers from some African nations. Reuters reports that the new requirements apply in up to seven countries that have historically had no visa requirement to visit Morocco….
The UN agency for migration has a new director general, with António Vitorino of Portugal taking the helm this month as former United States diplomat William Lacy Swing steps down after two five-year terms. The 61-year-old Vitorino is a former European Commissioner for Justice and Home Affairs, and was Portugal’s…
After 340 film screenings focused on migration, held across the globe in 100 countries, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced on Monday the winners of its Global Migration Film Festival – including a Congolese artist living in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya. The top award in the professional category…
The international news coverage on Libyan slave markets over the past week has resulted in a lot of issued statements, coming from outraged and passionate Parisian street protesters to British sports heroes to presidents and diplomats. “I am here because I saw my brothers sold in Libya as tomatoes on a counter,…
Laureen is the editor of Africa Times
Authorities say two men have been arrested in Italy following the deaths of 26 Nigerian women during a migrant crossing on the Mediterranean Sea. Italy’s ANSA news agency said police in Salerno identified Mohamed Ali Al Bouzid of Egypt and Al Mabrouc Wisam Harar, a Libyan, and have charged them…
There was some positive news Tuesday from the International Organization for Migration, as officials announced they had not seen a single migrant death on the Mediterranean Sea in the past three weeks. That’s a far cry from the 689 deaths recorded in August 2015, and the news comes as the…
Migrants traveling with smugglers off the coast of Yemen were forced into the sea on Thursday, with another five people reported dead and some 50 missing – just a day after a similar episode claimed 50 lives. The International Organization for Migration said up to 180 migrants were forced off…
Some 50 Somali and Ethiopian migrants traveling by boat to Yemen were forced into the sea by a human smuggler and drowned off the coast of Shabwa on Wednesday. There were dozens of survivors, some of whom left as others quickly buried 29 of the dead in shallow graves along…
More than 5,000 migrants so far this year have returned from Libya to their countries of origin, the International Organization for Migration said, including 132 people from Guinea who flew home to Conakry last Thursday. The group was on the sixth flight back to Guinea from Libya this year, as…
Social media images of trapped migrants in Libya are being used to extort ransom from their family and friends, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Thursday. The United Nations Migration Agency described a video recorded by a Somali journalist and posted to Facebook on June 9 that showed some…