Lebanese President Michel Aoun called on the security services to open an investigation into the circumstances that accompanied the sinking of a passenger boat off the coast of Tripoli, where six bodies were recovered. It is noteworthy that Lebanon is experiencing a stifling economic crisis that has increased the appearance of illegal immigration.
Six migrants, including a child, died in a boat sank off the coast of Lebanon, where the army is still trying today, Sunday (24 April 2022) to find survivors after rescuing about fifty people. And irregular migration increased by sea from Lebanon, which is suffering An unprecedented economic crisis. But sinking immigration boats are rare.
The boat left Saturday from the Qalamoun region, south of Tripoli, the largest city in northern Lebanon, with about 60 people on board, whose nationalities were not specified. On Sunday, the Lebanese army recovered the bodies of five migrants after the body of a girl was recovered on Saturday, bringing the total number of dead to six, according to a provisional toll of the Lebanese News Agency. So far, 48 people have been rescued, according to the latest official figures.
The army said in a statement that the boat sank shortly after leaving Qalamoun due to overcrowding and bad weather. But one survivor said the boat sank after the army chased it. He considered that “a patrol boat collided with our boat twice,” before the families of survivors asked him to be silent and took him away. In addition, the military said that a man suspected of being involved in transporting irregular migrants had been arrested.
On Saturday, Public Works and Transport Minister Ali Hamiya said about 60 migrants were on the boat. The Director of Tripoli Port, Ahmed Tamer, also confirmed that the army continues to search for survivors. The army closed the port and allowed only Lebanese Red Cross ambulances to enter and leave. He visited Hamit Al-Mina after the accident and expressed his regret for the “great catastrophe that befell Lebanon as a whole.”
Calls were also spread on social media to demonstrate on Sunday in front of Prime Minister Najib Mikati’s home in Tripoli. Relatives of people on the boat waited outside the port on Sunday, hoping for news. “This happened because of the politicians who forced the unemployed Lebanese to leave the country,” said a man waiting for news of a relative outside the port.
and testify Lebanon Which has a population of nearly six million people, is a serious financial crisis, as the lira has lost more than 90 percent of its value and the majority of the population is living below the poverty line. Many residents, as well as international organizations and foreign governments, blame the crisis on the Lebanese political class, which has remained unchanged for decades under accusations of corruption and incompetence. Legislative elections are tentatively scheduled for May 15 in the country where the armed pro-Iranian Hezbollah wields significant influence.
The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees says that at least 1,570 people, including 186 Lebanese, have left Lebanon Or they tried to leave irregularly by sea between January and November 2021. Most of the irregular migrants head to the European Union island of Cyprus, 175 km off the coast of Lebanon. The number of these migrants in 2019 reached about 270, including 40 Lebanese. Most of those trying to leave Lebanon by sea are Syrian refugees, but the number of Lebanese among them is increasing.
H.Z/A.G. (AFP)