Smuggling operations based along Libya’s coast are profiting from dangerous sea crossings whilst exposing migrants to “severe abuse and protection risks,” the International Organization for Migration has warned following a capsizing that left 53 people dead or missing.
A rubber boat carrying 55 African migrants and refugees overturned north of Zuwara, Libya on 6 February, with Libyan authorities rescuing just two Nigerian women during search operations. The IOM confirmed the incident on Monday, adding to an estimated 484 deaths in the first six weeks of 2026 along the central Mediterranean migration route.
Both survivors received emergency medical care upon disembarkation, with authorities coordinating their treatment. One woman reported losing her husband in the capsizing, whilst the other stated she had lost her two babies during the tragedy.
The rescued women told authorities the vessel departed from Al-Zawiya, Libya at approximately 11pm on 5 February. The boat encountered difficulties six hours into the journey and capsized, leaving passengers struggling in the water with only the two Nigerian women surviving.
The rubber boat carried 55 people, representing typical overloading seen in smuggling operations that maximize profits regardless of passenger safety. Libya has emerged as a major departure point for migrants and refugees attempting to reach Europe, with trafficking networks organizing crossings in vessels often unfit for the journey.
The IOM stated: “IOM stresses the need for stronger international cooperation and protection-centred responses to address smuggling and trafficking networks, alongside safe and regular migration pathways to reduce risks and save lives.”
The organization has reiterated that “trafficking and smuggling networks” continue to “exploit” migrants along the central Mediterranean route, “profiting from dangerous crossings in unseaworthy boats while exposing people to severe abuse and protection risks.”
January 2026 saw at least 375 migrants reported dead or missing as they attempted the treacherous Mediterranean crossing, though the IOM warns many more deaths likely go unrecorded in “invisible” shipwrecks amid extreme weather conditions.
December witnessed a particularly deadly incident when over 100 people died after a vessel carrying 117 passengers sent an SOS message shortly after leaving Libya on 18 December. Tunisian fishermen rescued a single survivor on 21 December. That boat also encountered difficulties around Zuwara, highlighting the area as a particularly dangerous departure point.
More than 1,300 migrants went missing in the central Mediterranean during 2025. The IOM’s Missing Migrants Project has recorded 33,441 migrants missing in the Mediterranean since 2014, documenting over a decade of deaths along migration routes to Europe. The project tracks fatalities and disappearances during migration journeys worldwide, with the Mediterranean representing one of the deadliest regions.
International cooperation efforts to combat smuggling networks and establish safer migration pathways continue to face challenges. Libya’s ongoing instability complicates enforcement and rescue operations, with the country lacking a unified coast guard authority. Competing factions control different sections of coastline, making coordinated responses to trafficking operations difficult.
The IOM continues calling for protection-centred responses that address both the immediate humanitarian crisis and longer-term solutions including safe and regular migration pathways. However, implementation of such measures remains hampered by political instability in Libya and disagreements among European nations about burden-sharing and migration policy.
