As the emerging Corona pandemic spread throughout the world, NGOs operating in the Mediterranean announced the suspension of migrant rescue operations in the search and rescue area off the Libyan coast.
The Italian “Save the Humans” organization expressed its regret for suspending its activities in the Mediterranean with the developments of the Corona virus (Covid 19) pandemic, and explained in a statement that “with the development of the pandemic of the virus and the necessary and indisputable measures that were adopted to try to contain it and protect the most vulnerable and most at risk among us”.
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The Italian Court of Palermo had issued a decision to lift the ban on the rescue ship “Marie Junio” managed by the organization, about a month and a half ago, after it was detained by the Italian authorities in September of last year after rescuing about 100 migrants who were landed in Italy.
NGOs fear an increase in fatal accidents on average in the absence of humanitarian ships.
The rescue ship, “Viking” operated by the “SOS Mediterane” in partnership with Doctors Without Borders, arrived last Friday to the French port of Marseille after the Italian authorities imposed a quarantine on its crews for 14 days at the end of last month.
On February 23, the ship landed about 300 migrants in the Italian port of Pozzallo, where the authorities agreed to receive them on condition that everyone be subjected to quarantine, according to the migrantnews website.
The International Organization for Migration, last week, announced that the Libyan Coast Guard had intercepted 5 boats for migrants, and returned about 406 people “fleeing violence and difficult conditions to Libya, most of whom ended in detention, where there are serious concerns about their safety.”
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