53 missing after migrant boat capsizes off Libya, UN reports

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the boat carrying 55 African migrants departed from the western Libyan town of Zawiya shortly before midnight on Thursday. Around six hours later, the vessel began taking on water and capsized on Friday morning north of Zuwara.

Two Nigerian women survived the disaster and were rescued by Libyan authorities. One woman lost her husband, while the other lost her two children, IOM said.

“Trafficking and smuggling networks continue to exploit migrants along the central Mediterranean route,” the U.N. agency stated, noting that these groups profit by sending people on unsafe and overcrowded boats from Libya to Europe.

Libya has become a key transit point for migrants fleeing conflict and poverty across Africa and the Middle East, despite the country’s ongoing instability following the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that toppled longtime leader Moammar Gadhafi.

The IOM’s missing migrants project reports that 484 migrants have died or gone missing along the central Mediterranean route so far in 2026. In 2025, the figure exceeded 1,300.

“These repeated incidents underscore the persistent and deadly risks faced by migrants and refugees attempting the dangerous crossing,” the agency said.

Human traffickers exploit Libya’s chaos, smuggling migrants across its borders and forcing them onto poorly equipped, overcrowded vessels. Those intercepted and returned to Libya are often held in government-run detention centers, where they face abuses including forced labor, beatings, sexual violence, and torture — acts deemed crimes against humanity by U.N.-commissioned investigators, reports UNB. 

Migrants are frequently extorted by traffickers or authorities before being allowed to attempt the dangerous journey to Europe, the IOM added.