UNITED NATIONS: At least 1,200 people have been killed or are missing after trying to flee Libya by boat in the past three months since the start of the uprising against Moammar Qaddafi, a UN official said Tuesday.
Some people who had already escaped to Tunisia or Egypt in recent weeks are returning to Libya in the hope of getting a boat to Europe, UN under secretary general B. Lynn Pascoe told the UN Security Council.
The UN estimates that some 893,000 people have left Libya since the uprising started in February.
"To date around 14,000 people have arrived by boat in Italy and Malta; at least 1,200 people have died or are missing as a result of the journey," Pascoe said in a briefing to the 15-nation council on the Libya conflict.
"Hundreds of people, who fled to Tunisia and Egypt in recent weeks, have crossed back into Libya apparently hoping to board boats to Europe," the UN political chief added.
