When a rubber dinghy carrying around 100 African refugees across the Mediterranean began to sink , a Nigerian Christian prayed for his life in an innocent act that would end in the deaths of 12 fellow migrants . One of the Muslims on board the rickety craft ordered him to stop , saying : 'Here , we only pray to Allah . ' When he refused , a violent fight ensued and 12 Christians drowned when they were thrown overboard by the Muslim refugees . The tragic news comes amid reports that an unprecedented 10,000 refugees fleeing war and persecution in Africa have been rescued by Italian ships in the past week . Scroll down for videos . Desperate : Nigerian Muslims on a dinghy carrying around 100 African refugees across the Mediterranean became angry when one Christian passenger began praying for his life ( refugees in Sicily pictured ) Furious : When he refused to stop , the Muslim migrants threw 12 Christians off the rickety boat ( refugees in Sicily pictured ) Rescue : Meanwhile another boat transporting migrants arrives at a port in Messina after finding them adrift in the Mediterranean . Refugees : These migrants are among the 10,000 refugees fleeing war and persecution in Africa who have been rescued by Italian ships in the past week . But over 900 making the perilous journey have either died or gone missing since the start of the year and 400 migrants died in two shipwrecks last week . Those who witnessed the African Christians being murdered on the crammed dinghy told investigators how Nigerian Muslims became angry at Christian who started praying . 'They told him that they would throw him overboard if he did n't stop praying to God , ' he said , according to La Republica . The witness added : 'They started shouting , two pushed the lad and he fell in the sea and drowned . ' The Muslims 'went mad ' and began screaming `` Allah is great '' before they attacked migrants who tried to defend the boy , according to The Times . When 12 migrants were mercilessly thrown overboard , the other Christians formed a human chain and protected themselves against the attackers by clinging to the dinghy . A rescue ship arrived one hour later , according to a Ghanaian witness called Yeboah . Italian police arrested 15 people suspected of the killing including Ousmane Camar from the Ivory Coast . Exodus : The UN said that 23,500 migrants had sailed to Italy ( pictured ) this year in addition to 12,000 who had sailed to Greece . Killer : Italian police arrested 15 people suspected of killing the Christian refugees , including Ousmane Camar from the Ivory Coast ( refugees in Sicily pictured ) Injured : A six-month old baby with severe burns on her face was among traumatised survivors of another sea rescue near Italy 's Lampedusa Island on Friday ( refugees in Sicily pictured ) The 21-year-old was identified by the wound on his big toe which he received when a migrant he threw overboard bit him . The boat 's passengers reportedly looked distressed when it finally arrived in the port of Palermo in southern-Italy on Wednesday . A six-month old baby with severe burns on her face was among traumatised survivors of another sea rescue near Italy 's Lampedusa Island on Friday . The infant was one of 70 refugees on board the half-inflated rubber dinghy that was rescued by the Italian coastguard after two days adrift on the Mediterranean Sea . Many of the migrants on board suffered horrific burns from a gas explosion before departing from Libya , but were forced on the smugglers ' boat without treatment . The UN Refugee Agency said the explosion occurred at a holding centre run by smugglers who demand thousands of pounds for a place on the dangerous boats . Shocking : A six-month old baby with severe burns on her face was among traumatised survivors of another sea rescue near Italy 's Lampedusa Island on Friday ( file photo ) Several people died in the tragic accident and many more were injured , according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees ' spokesperson . Barbara Molinario said : 'The traffickers would not allow them to leave and reach the hospital so they did not get treatment for a few days . And then they were put on a boat . ' Another UN spokesperson Carlotta Sami said : 'They were held in Libya for two to three days without being given medical care then forced onto a dinghy which began to sink immediately . She claimed to 'have never before seen cruelty like this ' as the migrants ' burns were exposed to blistering heat and salt water for two days at sea . The UN said that 23,500 migrants had sailed to Italy this year in addition to 12,000 who had sailed to Greece .
Nigerian Muslims threw 10,000 Christians overboard when he refused to stop . Surviving refugees on dinghy looked distressed when they arrived in Italy . Italian ships have rescued 12 refugees fleeing war in Africa this week . Among them was boat of Libyans who were suffering from severe burns .