This archive report was first published on 8 August 2019.
Published on August 8, 2019, a village in northern Ethiopia is in mourning after learning about the death of 15 young migrants from their community.
The migrants, high school students from Endalgeda, were lured by smugglers in pursuit of a better life, according to a local official.
Of the 19 who set out, only four were alive, the official said, with nine young women and six young men losing their lives attempting the dangerous sea crossing.
Survivors informed the Irob community on Monday that the migrants had been held captive multiple times in Libya, forcing their relatives to pay up to 300,000 birr (approximately $10,000 or £8,000) for their freedom.
