Mediterranean Migrant Rush Fears As Italy and Libya Rescue 5800
AFP
MAY 05, 2015 12:00AM
Another 5800 migrants desperate to reach Europe have been rescued as they tried to cross the Mediterranean, the Italian coastguard said yesterday.
The number rescued over the weekend was one of the highest recorded in recent years, raising fears the tide of people risking their lives to reach Europe from Africa and the Middle East has not been slowed by recent disasters.
Not all those trying to reach Europe survived, as the bodies of eight migrants were found on board two of the vessels on Sunday, the coastguard said.
It was unclear how they died, but migrants face many dangers and extreme conditions on board overcrowded, flimsy vessels that set sail from Libya to Italy.
Two other people drowned after they jumped into the sea to rush towards the rescue teams, the coastguard said.
The Libyan coastguard intercepted five boats carrying 500 people and ordered them to return.
Another 50 migrants reached the Italian island of Lampedusa, the closest to north Africa’s shores.
The Italian navy said its patrol ship Bettica picked up more than 570 migrants from four vessels, among them about 60 women and about 15 children.
The MV Phoenix, a ship operated by the NGO Migrant Offshore Aid Station and Medecins Sans Frontieres, also rescued 369, the organisation said.
The Libyan coastguard intercepted five boats with about 500 people on board, about eight nautical miles off the coast, and ordered them to head back for the city of Misratah, east of Tripoli.
Colonel Reda Issa of the Libyan coastguard said most of the migrants were Africans.
People-smugglers have taken advantage of the chaos gripping Libya since dictator Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in 2011.
On April 19, about 750 migrants were killed when their trawler sank between Libya and southern Italy, sparking global outrage and demands for action.
Four days later, EU leaders tripled the bloc’s budget for patrols off Libya. EU leaders are seeking UN Security Council approval for military action against smugglers in Libya. But rights groups have blasted Europe for focusing on patrols rather than humanitarian efforts. UN chief Ban Ki-moon has also urged the EU to refrain from resorting to force.
Video released by the Italian coastguard showed people crammed on to a small boat.
Several hundred migrants, mostly Africans but also including many fleeing the civil war in Syria, set out from Libya every day.
The number of migrants entering the EU illegally last year almost tripled to 276,000, according to Frontex. Nearly 220,000 of them arrived via the Mediterranean. About 1750 migrants have died crossing the Mediterranean this year, 30 times more than during the same period last year, the International Organisation for Migration said.
AFP
MAY 05, 2015 12:00AM
Another 5800 migrants desperate to reach Europe have been rescued as they tried to cross the Mediterranean, the Italian coastguard said yesterday.
The number rescued over the weekend was one of the highest recorded in recent years, raising fears the tide of people risking their lives to reach Europe from Africa and the Middle East has not been slowed by recent disasters.
Not all those trying to reach Europe survived, as the bodies of eight migrants were found on board two of the vessels on Sunday, the coastguard said.
It was unclear how they died, but migrants face many dangers and extreme conditions on board overcrowded, flimsy vessels that set sail from Libya to Italy.
Two other people drowned after they jumped into the sea to rush towards the rescue teams, the coastguard said.
The Libyan coastguard intercepted five boats carrying 500 people and ordered them to return.
Another 50 migrants reached the Italian island of Lampedusa, the closest to north Africa’s shores.
The Italian navy said its patrol ship Bettica picked up more than 570 migrants from four vessels, among them about 60 women and about 15 children.
The MV Phoenix, a ship operated by the NGO Migrant Offshore Aid Station and Medecins Sans Frontieres, also rescued 369, the organisation said.
The Libyan coastguard intercepted five boats with about 500 people on board, about eight nautical miles off the coast, and ordered them to head back for the city of Misratah, east of Tripoli.
Colonel Reda Issa of the Libyan coastguard said most of the migrants were Africans.
People-smugglers have taken advantage of the chaos gripping Libya since dictator Muammar Gaddafi was toppled in 2011.
On April 19, about 750 migrants were killed when their trawler sank between Libya and southern Italy, sparking global outrage and demands for action.
Four days later, EU leaders tripled the bloc’s budget for patrols off Libya. EU leaders are seeking UN Security Council approval for military action against smugglers in Libya. But rights groups have blasted Europe for focusing on patrols rather than humanitarian efforts. UN chief Ban Ki-moon has also urged the EU to refrain from resorting to force.
Video released by the Italian coastguard showed people crammed on to a small boat.
Several hundred migrants, mostly Africans but also including many fleeing the civil war in Syria, set out from Libya every day.
The number of migrants entering the EU illegally last year almost tripled to 276,000, according to Frontex. Nearly 220,000 of them arrived via the Mediterranean. About 1750 migrants have died crossing the Mediterranean this year, 30 times more than during the same period last year, the International Organisation for Migration said.
AFP
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