Migrant crisis: 3 babies among 100 dead in Libya after capsizing of a boat



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The lifeless bodies of three babies, dressed in brightly colored clothes and almost sleeping, were carefully hauled to Libya on Friday.

Held in the outstretched arms of three men near the water's edge, one Babies still wore sneakers, closed by pink velcro straps, another with red socks matched with red and white dotted pants and a third barefoot, partially wrapped up in a makeshift blanket.

The migrant crisis, their young lives lost as a rubber boat carrying desperate migrants in search of a better life capsized off the coast of the North African nation. A hundred or more people have died, said a spokesman for the UN Migration Agency, the International Organization for Migration, in a tweet .

Hundreds of people have already lost their lives this year attempting the perilous crossing of the Mediterranean, according to IOM.

  A man carries the body of one of the three babies
  The survivors arrive ashore while two men hold the body of one of the three babies
The leaders fought over the responsibility of the migrants rescued at sea and promised to strengthen the external borders of Europe.

Only 14 migrants were rescued after the boat capsized on Friday, according to IOM, while the rescue operation was underway.

"The bodies of three children under five were found, how many dead or dead, we do not know for the moment," said Christine Petre, spokeswoman for the United States. IOM for Libya. providing on-site medical assistance, and additional staff was deployed, said Petre. "The IOM provides direct humanitarian assistance at the point of landing, including water and food," she said.

Separately, about 345 migrants were fired Friday on the Libyan coast by the Libyan coastguard, IOM said. 10,200 migrants have been brought back to Libya so far in 2018, said Petre. The Libyan Coast Guard has returned more than 2,000 people last week

The EU has abdicated its responsibilities

The humanitarian group Médecins Sans Frontières urged Friday European leaders to "show decency" in its Committing to seek EU Member States abdicate their responsibilities to save lives and deliberately condemn vulnerable people to be trapped in Libya, or die at sea, "said Karline Kleijer, chief of emergencies for the country. aid group.

"They are fully aware of the extreme violence and abuse that refugees and migrants endure in Libya."

  Migrants who survived the sinking of an inflatable boat off Libya are landed east of the capital Tripoli, Friday
  Migrants who survived the sinking escalate the rocky coast of Al-Hamidiya, east of the capital Tripoli
Libyan centers of deportation are full of abuse, according to a human rights group. Secret investigation last year revealed cases of migrants sold at auction of slaves.
Italy's new populist government sparked controversy this month by closing its ports to rescue vessels of Mediterranean migrants. Pe Conte welcomed the agreement of the European Council Friday, saying that it took "long negotiations, but from today Italy is no longer alone."

Oscar Camps, president of the Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms, complained about a lifeboat, his organization had on hand to help migrants, as she had done in the past.

"Today, 100 people have died in the Mediterranean, we are outraged not only by the deaths of these people, but also because they have not used lifeboats in the region, neither Italy nor anyone else, uses our capabilities, "he said.

" We have done it in the past – we we came seven miles from the Libyan coast to witness a sinking – we did so many operations under the coordination of the Italian Coast Guard, but suddenly they ignore us, they do not call us, and people continue to die a few miles from us, it's a shame and somebody has to take responsibility, we're not there to obstruct the work of the Coast Guard. that people do not die in the sea. "

Uptick in the crossings

According to the agreement agreed on Friday at the summit of the European Council in Brussels, the European Union will look into the creation of centers The proposed regional landing platforms would be located in North African countries such as Libya, with the aim of breaking the business model of drug traffickers in countries outside of Europe. However, it is not yet known whether these countries are capable or willing to operate such a system.

European leaders have also agreed to step up their efforts to stop traffickers operating outside Libya or elsewhere, including increased support for the Libyan Coast Guard and for the Sahel region, through which many African migrants sub- Saharan are traveling north

Related: Merkel is saved for the moment, but Europe has not solved her migration problem

Despite the dangers, thousands of migrants – many of whom are fleeing the conflict , poverty or oppression – continue to risk their lives on overcrowded and barely navigable boats in the hope of finding While the illegal crossings to the EU have decreased by 95% compared to their peak in October 2015, there has recently been a slight rise in some routes across the Mediterranean. nean, said the European Council.

As of 6 June, some 33,400 migrants and refugees had reached Europe by sea this year, IOM said, most of them arriving in Greece, Italy and Italy. Spain. The estimated number of deaths was 785.

CNN's Lorenzo D'Agostino contributed to this report.

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