At least 8,500 refugees drowned on way to Europe since death of Alan Kurdi

Ahead of Saturday's second anniversary of Kurdi's death, the UN relief agency said that although the number of arrivals in Europe has decreased significantly since he washed up on a Turkish beach, many refugees and migrants continue to attempt the dangerous journey across the Mediterranean to Italy and elsewhere.
Since 2 September 2015, more than 8,500 people have died or gone missing trying to cross the Mediterranean alone, while many hundreds, possible thousands, are thought to have died in the deserts of Niger and Libya, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), a UN agency.
The new mortality figures, released late on Thursday, show that 4,337 people are believed to have died since September 2016 while attempting to reach Europe. Most departed from Libya bound for Turkey or from Turkey bound for Greece. Recent months have also seen more attempts to reach Europe from Morocco bound for Spain. At least 4,185 died in the previous 12 months.
The figures follow an earlier UNHCR report released last week that showed a decline in the numbers of refugees reaching Europe in the first half of 2017, mainly due to a 94 per cent decline in people using the sea route from Turkey to Greece.
Meanwhile, crossings from North Africa to Italy have remained at around the same level as last year, the UN body said.
Bribery on the border
Last week Middle East Eye revealed that Italy had been accused of bribing Libyan militias to stop refugees and migrants from setting off to reach Europe, amid reports that arrivals in Italy had dropped dramatically in recent weeks.
Despite an overall fall in arrivals, the likelihood of dying among people seeking to reach Europe is still alarmingly high, the UNHCR warned. It also warned that as most refugees travel clandestinely, such information is hard to confirm and these estimates and the real figure is likely to be higher. 
SOURCE :MIDDLE EAST EYE