At least four Syrian refugees die as boat sinks off Algeria coast
At least four Syrian refugees die as boat sinks off Algeria coast
The four refugees reported dead were from the northern Syria town of Kobani, Syrian monitor Violations Documentation Centre said.
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It is not yet clear how many people were on board the Spain-bound boat [Jorge Guerrero/AFP via Getty]
A boat carrying Syrian migrants sank off the coast of Algeria on Tuesday night, killing at least four people, according to reports.
It is not yet clear how many people were on board the boat - which was bound for Spain according to Syrian monitor Violations Documentation Centre - when it sank.
Syrian and Iraqi Kurdish news outlets said 34 people were onboard the boat, but a relative of one of the victims told The New Arab's Arabic-language sister site Al-Araby Al-Jadeed that there were only seven Syrians and five Algerians on board.
Four of the migrants who died were from the northern Syria town of Kobani, the Violations Documentation Centre said.
More than 11 million people have fled their homes in Syria since 2011, when a civil war began after Bashar al-Assad's regime brutally crushed popular protests.
More than five million have left the country entirely, with many crossing the Mediterranean en route to Europe.
Though most Syrians head to Europe via Turkey, others have travelled to North Africa to board boats crossing the Mediterranean.
Last week, a boat that departed from Lebanon carrying Syrian and other migrants sank off the Syrian coast, killing almost 100 people.
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