Five men arrested aboard the El Hiblu 1, following the alleged hijacking of the tanker after it picked up desperate migrants in the Mediterranean Sea this week, have been identified as West Africans. That’s according to the German humanitarian NGO Mission Lifeline Search and Rescue, speaking with the Times of…
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…
Rwandan President Paul Kagame and his Egyptian counterpart, Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, each addressed the African Union assembly on Sunday as the outgoing Kagame handed over the AU leadership to Sisi. In his remarks to African heads of state, Sisi called for the creation of more job opportunities and investments. He…
Africa is making great progress on common-market goals but faces many challenges in dealing with refugee crises and the conflicts that cause them, said African Union Commission Chairman Moussa Faki Mahamat on Thursday as he delivered opening remarks ahead of the AU Summit in Addis Ababa. The African Continental Free…
The United Nations is calling on global citizens to stand in solidarity with the world’s migrants and refugees – this time not by standing at all, but by walking, running and biking. UNHCR, the UN agency for refugees, launched a project this week that invites the world to cover the…
Ahead of a storm forecast for the Mediterranean Sea, the United Nations refugee agency, UNHCR, joined in a humanitarian aid appeal Monday asking for safe ports for two vessels carrying 49 migrants. “Time is increasingly of the essence,” UNHCR said in a New Year’s Eve statement. “Rough seas are expected…
Migrants and refugees are being subjected to “unimaginable horrors” from the moment they enter Libya, and at every stage of their journey as they seek to cross the Mediterranean Sea, according to a report released Thursday by UNSMIL, the UN Support Mission in Libya. The 61-page report is based on…
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…
Campaigners with Human Rights Watch in both Africa and the United States expressed concern late Friday over the Nigerian army’s use of President Donald Trump’s remarks, specifically about responding with lethal force to any migrants throwing rocks at U.S. troops staged on its southern border. Trump’s remarks Thursday, which he…
The United Nations Refugee Agency (UNHCR) says human traffickers and smugglers in Libya are impersonating their humanitarian aid staff, wearing UNHCR vests and other items to deceive migrants. Citing reliable reports from their sources and refugees, UNHCR said the practice pops up at smuggling hubs and disembarkation points where migrant…
The 141 migrants aboard the rescue ship Aquarius are headed for Malta, after days of yet another standoff on the Mediterranean Sea as three countries refused to allow the ship port access. Malta originally refused to accept the ship, as did Spain, which previously allowed its passengers to disembark during…
Hundreds of migrants rounded up in Algeria have arrived in Niger, despite the Algerian government’s strong denials that it is forcibly removing the primarily West African migrants and dumping them in the desert. Migrants from Guinea, Cameroon and other nations tell the International Organization for Migration (IOM) that they are…
The UN Refugee Agency released its annual Global Trends study on Tuesday, a report that finds 68.5 million people had been driven from their homes across the world at the end of 2017, primarily because of war and conflict. Seven of the Top 10 source countries of refugees were on the…
Zambia is the latest African nation reportedly in talks with the Israeli government to accept thousands of African migrants that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has promised to expel from his country. An Israel Radio report said Monday the southern African nation, along with unnamed others, are the latest engaged in…
The Government of Rwanda, under scrutiny for its position on accepting relocated African migrants, has issued a statement on clarifying its position and denying it has any arrangement with Israel. “In reference to the rumors that have been recently spread in the media, the Government of Rwanda wishes to inform…