[ad_1]
The SOS Mediterranean and Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) Charities have relaunched rescue operations for migrants off Libya, seven months after being forced to abandon their efforts using their Aquarius vessel.
The two groups "are returning to sea with a new vessel, the Ocean Viking, to conduct search and rescue activities in the central Mediterranean," according to a statement released Sunday.
"While people are still fleeing Libya through one of the most perilous maritime pbadages in the world and there is virtually no life-saving means available in the central Mediterranean, the return of SOS Mediterranean and MSF is imperative. "
Funded in partnership with MSF, Ocean Viking, Norwegian Pavilion, has nine crew members, a search and rescue team, as well as medical and other staff. It is expected to arrive in the center Mediterranean at the end of the month.
"426 men, women and children have died" since the beginning of the year in the central Mediterranean as they tried "to escape the escalating conflict in Libya and the deplorable conditions of the Libyan detention centers ".
Inhumane conditions
|
Why Bangladeshi migrants board Europe from Libya |
Libya, a prey to chaos since the 2011 uprising, which killed longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi, has long been a major transit route for migrants and refugees, especially those in sub-Saharan Africa, who were trying to reach Europe.
Traffickers exploited the Libyan storm to send hundreds of thousands of migrants on dangerous journeys across the central Mediterranean, although the number of crossings has dropped sharply compared to 2017, in the wake of an attempt to block departures.
Many migrants are supported by the Libyan coastguards, supported by the European Union. Thousands of people are currently being held in government-run detention centers, under conditions that human rights groups often consider inhumane.
Earlier in July, one of the detention centers in the capital Tripoli was hit by an air strike, killing at least 44 people and injuring 130 others.
After nearly three years of activities during which he saved about 30,000 peopleAquarius was forced to cease operations in December 2018 because of what the groups described as obstruction from some European countries.
SOURCE:
Al Jazeera and news agencies
[ad_2]
Source link
