The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has raised several concerns about the safety of migrants whose boats are intercepted in the Mediterranean by the Libyan coast guard, and returned to Libya, under deteriorating security conditions there.
The organization stated that 4 days ago, the Tripoli port was subjected to violent bombing, just before the landing of about 200 migrants there, and also raised questions about the fate of 600 migrants who were rescued and placed in one of the facilities of the Ministry of Interior, only to have an announcement later stating that they were released and no knowledge about their whereabouts was confirmed .
The organization stated in an indirect statement, that Libyan ports are not safe, citing the bombing of the port of Tripoli 4 days ago as an example.
The UN organization indicated in its statement that “during the first two weeks of January 2020, about 1,000 migrants were returned to Libya, 600 of whom were transferred to a facility controlled by the Ministry of the Interior”, and that the Libyan authorities announced that they had been instantly released.
IOM stated that “there are many women and children among these migrants, we are trying to obtain information about their health and living conditions as well as their whereabouts, but until now we have not got any information from Libyan authorities.”
According to the UN, 1.700 migrants have been intercepted in the Mediterranean by the Libyan Coast Guard since the beginning of this year, and returned to Libya, while more than 3.000 other migrants arrived in Italy and Malta from Libya, most of them were rescued by rescue ships operating in Mediterranean, affiliated with humanitarian NGOs.
IOM has previously published a number of statements documenting violations and poor conditions faced by migrants in detention centers in Libya, and considered it unacceptable “for the current situation to continue as it is, despite successive calls to dismantle these centers and find alternative solutions that guarantee the minimum level of safety and security for Migrants.”
#Libya #IOM #UN #Migrants #Mediterranean
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