Migrant arrivals in Italy by sea fell by 46.9% from January 1 to February 15, 2024, but the analysis of the countries from which the boats depart highlights the overtaking of Tunisia by Libya. (Illustration: Rescue of irregular migrants by Italian coast guards).
At least 4,028 migrants arrived irregularly in Italy between the start of the year and February 15, a drop of 46.9% compared to the same period of 2023, when 7,857 people arrived on Italian shores.
This is what emerges from the latest data from the Italian Ministry of the Interior reported by Nova Agency. Analysis of the boats’ departure countries immediately highlights a change, with Libya overtaking Tunisia. A change from last year, when the Tunisian route recorded 100,000 disembarkations, while the Libyan route recorded 50,000.
According to data updated as of February 15, 2024, if arrivals on the Italian coasts of migrants from Tunisia increased from 4,236 to 1,172 (-72.3%), those from Libya increased from 2,614 to 2,822 (+7.9%). According to what Nova Agency reports, departures from Libya mainly concerned Tripolitania, notably the localities of Zouara, Sabratha, and Zawiya, while those from Cyrenaica collapsed.
To the more than 4,000 arrivals, we must add more than 1,000 people intercepted at sea and brought back to Libyan territory, as reported by the International Organization for Migration (IOM). We must also add the interceptions carried out by the Tunisian authorities, which are not currently available, specify Nova.
Furthermore, the IOM reports at least 89 deaths (16 dead and 73 missing) since the start of the year in the central Mediterranean. Among the countries of departure for ships arriving in Italy, in addition to Libya and Tunisia, there is also Algeria, but with significantly more marginal figures. Indeed, from the start of 2024 to February 15, only 34 people arrived from the Algerian coast, a decrease of 72.3% compared to the same period of 2023, when there were 123. As for the nationality of the migrants declared at the time of disembarkation, most of them are from Bangladesh (712), Syria (665), and Tunisia (467).
