TRIPOLI: Two migrants died and another 200 were rescued Saturday when their boat sank off Lebanon’s northern coast, from where increasing numbers make the risky journey to flee a collapsed economy.
An AFP correspondent in the impoverished port city of Tripoli said men, women and children — mostly refugees from Syria but also about 50 Lebanese — were on board the vessel when it got into difficulty.
“Three naval ships, accompanied by another from UNIFIL (the UN mission in Lebanon), arrived at the site... off Selaata and personnel saved some 200 people,” the army said on Twitter.
A separate tweet said two people had died.
Earlier, the army said a naval patrol had been dispatched to rescue the vessel packed with people attempting to “illegally leave Lebanese waters.”
On Twitter, UNIFIL confirmed it was assisting the Lebanese Navy “in search and rescue operation at sea between Beirut & Tripoli where a boat in distress with a large number of people on board was found.”
Dozens of relatives of those rescued streamed into Tripoli port to await their return to shore, AFP’s correspondent said.
Lebanon is mired in what the World Bank describes as one of the worst economic crises in modern history. The country also hosts more than a million refugees from Syria’s civil war.
It was once just a launchpad for foreign migrants, but nearly three years of economic collapse have left Lebanon’s own citizens increasingly joining Syrian and Palestinian refugees clamouring to leave by dangerous sea routes.
“We can no longer live in this country — or Syria,” said Younes Jomaa, a Syrian originating from Idlib and a brother of one of the surviving migrants.
They are among millions displaced over more than a decade by Syria’s war.
“I had planned to go with my brother, but was unable to get enough money together,” Jomaa said, adding that his brother had taken on debt to fund his voyage.
In late September around 100 migrants died when their boat sank off the Syrian coast after departing from Lebanon, in one of the deadliest such episodes.
Migrants departing from Lebanon head for Europe, with one of the of the main destinations being Cyprus, only 175 kilometers (110 miles) away.
The UN’s refugee agency UNHCR has said at least 1,570 individuals, including 186 Lebanese nationals, had embarked or tried to embark on illicit sea journeys from Lebanon between January and November 2021.
Two dead, 200 rescued in Lebanon migrant boat sinking: army
https://arab.news/vwkx2
Two dead, 200 rescued in Lebanon migrant boat sinking: army
UN force in Lebanon says peacekeeper wounded by Israeli fire
- UNIFIL reiterated its call to the Israeli army to “cease aggressive behavior and attacks on or near peacekeepers working for peace and stability along the Blue Line”
BEIRUT, Lebanon: The United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon said an Israeli attack near their position in the country’s south wounded a peacekeeper on Friday, reiterating a call for Israel to “cease aggressive behavior.”
It is the latest incident reported by the peacekeepers in southern Lebanon, where UNIFIL acts as a buffer between Israel and Lebanon and has been working with Lebanon’s army to support a year-old truce between Israel and militant group Hezbollah.
“This morning, heavy machine gunfire from Israel Defense Forces (IDF) positions south of the Blue Line impacted close to a UNIFIL patrol inspecting a roadblock in the village of Bastarra. The gunfire followed a grenade explosion nearby,” UNIFIL said in a statement.
The force added that “the sound of the gunfire and the explosion left one peacekeeper slightly injured with ear concussion.”
Also on Friday, UNIFIL said “another patrol carrying out a routine operational task also reported machine gunfire from the Israeli side in immediate proximity to their position” in Kfarshuba, south Lebanon.
The peacekeeping force said it had informed the Israel army of its activities in these areas.
Earlier this month, UNIFIL said Israeli forces fired on its peacekeepers in southern Lebanon.
Last month it said Israeli soldiers shot at its troops in the south, while Israel’s military said it mistook blue helmets for “suspects” and fired warning shots.
In October, UNIFIL said one of its members was wounded by an Israeli grenade dropped near a UN position in the country’s south, the third incident of its kind in just over a month.
“Attacks on or near peacekeepers are serious violations of Security Council resolution 1701,” the peacekeeping force added, referring to the 2006 resolution that formed the basis of the November 2024 truce.
UNIFIL reiterated its call to the Israeli army to “cease aggressive behavior and attacks on or near peacekeepers working for peace and stability along the Blue Line.”
Israel carries out regular attacks on Lebanon despite the truce, usually saying it is targeting sites and operatives belonging to Hezbollah, which it accuses of rearming.
It has also kept troops in five south Lebanon areas it deems strategic.
