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Libya is the main exit point for ships; traffickers rush for fear of closing European borders
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A boat arrives at the naval base of Tripoli with rescued immigrants – 29/06/2018 (Ismail Zitouny / Reuters)
200 migrants drowned in the Mediterranean in 3 days
About 200 migrants
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July 3, 2018, 16:38
have been drowned in the Mediterranean Sea over the past three days, bringing the number of deaths since the beginning of 2018 to more than 1,000 people.
The rhythm of migrants, mostly Africans ] Libya accelerated after a European agreement to dissuade these crossings .
Only Tuesday (03), at least seven people were killed, while 123 others were saved after their ship sank along the Libyan coast.
The bodies of five migrants, killed at the time of the rescue, could not be recovered, said the captain of a Libyan navy vessel, Rami Ghommeidh. Two children were found dead
Sunday (1st), 63 migrants disappeared after the sinking of their ship in front of Libya. According to General Ayub Kacem, also from the Navy, 41 migrants were saved using life jackets.
"The Coast Guard has found no bodies in the area," he said.
Libya landed Monday (02) in Tripoli with 130 people, rescued in two other operations in the same area. At least 114 people traveling together with the survivors are still missing at sea.
Alarming situation
For months, the Libyan coast has been the main exit point for precarious vessels filled with migrants who are likely to be dangerous.
Last week, General Kacem warned that human traffickers had accelerated exits for fear of a closure of European borders, after Rome banned access to [19659009] Since Friday (29), the Libyan Coast Guard has rescued or intercepted more than 1,000 migrants.
According to a statement issued by International Organization for Migration (IOM) William Lacy Swing, director of the organization, will visit Tripoli this week ""
The IOM has a program of "voluntary return", which allowed the repatriation of 9,000 Libyan migrants during the coordinator of this project in Tripoli, Yomaa ben Hasan, on Monday.
Since the time of the dictator Muammar Gaddafi overthrown and executed in 2011, thousands of migrants cross the borders of southern Libya, mainly trying to cross the Mediterranean towards Europe.The situation has worsened since the fall of the dictator, amidst the chaos that reigns in the country
(AFP)
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