Death toll update | Five Syrians die in a sinking boat carrying refugees in the Mediterranean Sea

Five Syrian refugees died, when a boat carrying a group of refugees sank in the Mediterranean Sea near Libyan coasts.

The five refugees hail from Nawa City in Daraa, where they left their country due to the economic conditions, in search for safe haven and a job opportunity that secures a better life.

According to sources in the Libyan Anti-Immigration Service, Libyan militias pursue refugees to return them to the Libyan lands and try to sink the boats in case the refugees rejected their orders.

The issue of illegal immigration is one of the most prominent issues of concern to the Libyan authorities, in addition to the deportation of illegal immigrants through the Musaed land port with Egypt.

On October 16, SOHR activists confirmed the death of 23 Syrian refugees from Hafir Al-Foqa town in Rif Dimashq province, who drowned after the sinking of a migrant boat carrying 60 refugees, mostly from villages and towns in Rif Dimashq. The boat sank last week in the Mediterranean Sea, near the Libyan coastline, where refugees on that boat were attempting to sneak into Europe, seeking for a safe haven. Meanwhile, the fate of other refugees of those who were on the boat remains unknown.

Syrians are struggling with dreadful living conditions in Syria due to the protracted war and its unpleasant repercussions which badly impacted economy and living and social situations; this, in turn spurred many Syrians, especially young people, to risk their safety and lives by taking dangerous routes sneaking to neighbouring countries and Europe, dreaming to enjoy decent standards of living.