The victims were “of Christian faith, compared to their
attackers who were of Muslim faith,” police said in a statement, saying the 15
people arrested were accused of “multiple aggravated murders motivated by
religious hate”.
The incident aboard the rubber dinghy, which was carrying
about 100 migrants, took place in the Strait of Sicily, between Tunisia and
Italy.
According to a group of Nigerian and Ghanaian survivors, a
fight broke out over religion, with a group of Muslim passengers threatening
the Nigerians and Ghanaians after the latter – who were in the minority –
declared themselves to be Christians.
“The threats then materialised and 12 people, all Nigerian
and Ghanaian, are believed to have drowned in the Mediterranean,” the statement
added.
The 15 migrants arrested over the attack on their arrival in
Palermo were from Ivory Coast, Mali and Senegal.
In a separate migrant tragedy, as many as 41 migrants were
feared drowned after refugee boat sank in the Mediterranean, Italian media
reported.
Four survivors reported the incident to Italian police and
humanitarian organizations.
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