so far this year compared to the same period in 2022. more than 176,000 illegal migrants have reached europe in 2023. the route, known as the central mediterranean route, from north african countries like tunisia and libya to italy is one of the most busiest and dangerous sea crossings. for more, here s our reporter in italy, sofia bettiza. what these new figures show us is that many more migrants have reached europe this year compared to last year. the number of people caught making irregular border crossings into the eu had never been this high since 2016. now the main routes that migrants are taking is what s known as the central mediterranean route, so crossing the mediterranean sea from north africa to italy. frontex says that many people are coming from guinea,
point to unpick. what we have seen covering migration generally is european authorities are really failing in dealing with criminal networks. there are material differences. these are relatively short sea crossings. but also, there a real problem in policymakers and their understanding of why people take these journeys. they know how deadly they can be. i think there s a poor understanding, really, empathetic understanding of the motivation of people trying to get to europe, how determined they are and how much they re prepared to gamble even knowing that they might end up dying. the gamble even knowing that they might end up dying- end up dying. the obvious distinction end up dying. the obvious distinction between - end up dying. the obvious distinction between these | end up dying. the obvious - distinction between these cases we re reporting on the tragic incident in greece and what i guess
More than 3,000 refugees, migrants and asylum seekers died or went missing last year while trying to reach Europe via Mediterranean and Atlantic sea routes, a UN refugee agency report showed on Friday.