CAIRO: The UN migration agency said Tuesday that a boat carrying migrants bound for Europe capsized in the Mediterranean Sea off Libya, leaving at least two dozen people drowned or missing and presumed dead, the latest shipwreck off the North African country.
Safa Msehli, a spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration, told The Associated Press that Libya’s coast guard intercepted three boats on Monday, and one of them had capsized.
She said the coast guard retrieved two bodies, and survivors reported 22 others were missing and presumed dead.
At least 45 survivors on the three boats were returned to the shore. All migrants were men, with a majority from Egypt and Morocco, she said.
“This new tragedy signals yet again the need for increased search and rescue capacity in the Mediterranean. Instead, we are seeing restrictions on NGOs and long, unnecessary stand-offs,” Msehli said.
The shipwreck was the latest maritime disaster involving migrants seeking a better life in Europe.
In August, a boat carrying dozens of migrants capsized leaving at least 45 people drowned or missing and presumed dead, marking the largest number of fatalities in a single shipwreck off the coast of the North African country.
Libya, which descended into chaos following the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi, has emerged as a major transit point for African and Arab migrants fleeing war and poverty to Europe.
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Boat capsizes near Libya, 2 dozen migrants presumed dead
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Boat capsizes near Libya, 2 dozen migrants presumed dead
- Libya’s coast guard intercepted three boats on Monday, and one of them had capsized
- The coast guard retrieved two bodies, and survivors reported 22 others were missing
Syria begins circulating new post-Assad currency bills
- Presidential decree said new Syrian currency will be issued by removing two zeros from the nominal value of the old currency
- Central Bank govenor says Syrians can now exchange old Syrian pounds with new banknotes
DAMASCUS, Syria: Syria started the process of circulating new currency bills on Saturday as the nation seeks to stabilize the economy as it recovers from the fall of Bashar Assad’s government.
A decree issued earlier this week by President Ahmad Al-Sharaa said that “old Syrian currency” will be gradually withdrawn from circulation according to a timetable set by the central bank and through designated exchange centers.
Central Bank Governor Mokhles Nazer posted on X that after months of preparations, the exchange of old Syrian pounds with new banknotes officially began Saturday morning.
The presidential decree posted on the SANA state news agency stipulates that “new Syrian currency” will be issued by removing two zeros from the nominal value of the old currency. It means every 100 Syrian pounds of the old currency will now equate to one Syrian pound.
The largest denomination of the old currency was 5,000 Syrian pound, while under the new currency it is 500 pounds.
The US dollar was selling at exchange shops in Damascus on Saturday for 11,800 pounds for the old banknotes, some of which bear the images of Assad and his late father and predecessor, Hafez Assad.
At the start of Syria’s conflict in mid-March 2011, the US dollar was worth 47 Syrian pounds.
Since insurgent groups led by Al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham marched into Damascus in December 2024 to end the Assad family’s 54-year rule, work has been ongoing by the country’s new authorities to improve the economy battered by years of war and Western sanctions.
The US and the European Union have removed most of the sanctions imposed on Syria during Assad’s rule.
A decree issued earlier this week by President Ahmad Al-Sharaa said that “old Syrian currency” will be gradually withdrawn from circulation according to a timetable set by the central bank and through designated exchange centers.
Central Bank Governor Mokhles Nazer posted on X that after months of preparations, the exchange of old Syrian pounds with new banknotes officially began Saturday morning.
The presidential decree posted on the SANA state news agency stipulates that “new Syrian currency” will be issued by removing two zeros from the nominal value of the old currency. It means every 100 Syrian pounds of the old currency will now equate to one Syrian pound.
The largest denomination of the old currency was 5,000 Syrian pound, while under the new currency it is 500 pounds.
The US dollar was selling at exchange shops in Damascus on Saturday for 11,800 pounds for the old banknotes, some of which bear the images of Assad and his late father and predecessor, Hafez Assad.
At the start of Syria’s conflict in mid-March 2011, the US dollar was worth 47 Syrian pounds.
Since insurgent groups led by Al-Sharaa’s Hayat Tahrir Al-Sham marched into Damascus in December 2024 to end the Assad family’s 54-year rule, work has been ongoing by the country’s new authorities to improve the economy battered by years of war and Western sanctions.
The US and the European Union have removed most of the sanctions imposed on Syria during Assad’s rule.
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