Days of Palestine, Geneva –Recent Israeli war on Gaza Strip was main cause that people perished in Mediterranean in 2014, International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said on Friday.
Spokesman of the International Organisation for Migration Joel Millman said that about 3,200 migrants died in the Mediterranean en-route to Europe along this year.
“An estimated 3,200 migrants have perished attempting to cross the Mediterranean in 2014,” Millman said, “many of them victims of ruthless criminal gangs seeking to profit from the misery of men, women and children fleeing conflict and oppression.”
Millman was speaking in a press conference in the UN Headquarters in Geneva. He said that most of the migrants attempted to reach Europe in 2014 were Syrians, Palestinians and Eritreans.
He noted that there was a notable increase in the illegal migration to Europe this year, citing the recent Israeli war on the Gaza Strip was a main factor that pushed many Palestinians to seek travelling to Europe.
It is worth mentioning that the IOM said last month that the number of migrants lost their lives in the Mediterranean was 3,072, noting that the number was the largest for migrants perished in the span of one year since 1988.
Shortlink for this post: https://daysofpalestine.ps/?p=1841
