Two Egyptian security sources reported that a dozen Egyptian migrants were believed dead when their boat capsized on Monday off the coast near the town of Tobruk in eastern Libya. One man was rescued.

Sources said that the 13 men left for Italy on a people-smugglers boat Sunday night. They cited information provided by the survivor via Libyan authorities.

The group of Egyptians from al-Sharkia province and al-Gharbia were part of a growing number who are taking dangerous sea voyages to Europe, as they struggle with unemployment and high inflation.

Libya has become a major transit point for migrants who are fleeing war and poverty in the Middle East to Europe after the overthrow of Muammar Gadhafi by NATO in 2011.

U.N. data shows that 761,322 migrants of 44 nationalities live in oil-rich Libya, according to figures collected at mid-2024. (Reporting and writing by Ahmed Mohamed Hassan, Ahmed Elumami and Mark Heinrich; Nafisa Eltahir, Mark Heinrich and Nafisa Eltahir)

(source: Reuters)