My reaction was exactly the same, until I read the article about refugees caught by Tunisian Coast Guard: https://medium.com/il-manifesto-global/in-tunisia-refugees-caught-between-prison-and-deportation-c8981e292516. I think that city of Zwhara, mentioned in the article, might be in fact Zuwara with different transliteration (زوارة). It would be useful if you could write names of places and people not only in English, but also in Arabic or/and Tigrinya. I don’t know Tigrinya, I know a bit of Amharic and Arabic alphabet though and while checking some things out it could be better to know the original version.
Also, I would like to ask, did anyone try to check Measho’s version? I’ve read the interview with him (mentioned in one of the updates, I think): http://gatti.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.it/2014/11/07/missing-boat-case-measho-tesfamariam-only-god-knows-what-happened/, where he talks about his brother, Medhane, who — as he claims — went missing on the Ghost Boat with all the other passengers. I was unable to find any Medhane Tesfemariam, but I found Medhane Kiflay, who has many photos with Measho on Facebook (most of them signed as “family”). And a man named Medhane Kiflay is on the list of people reported missing on this boat (http://gatti.blogautore.espresso.repubblica.it/2014/11/07/june-28-boat-case-243-eritrean-refugees-missing-at-sea-the-list-of-passengers/).