Benghazi (agencies)
Doctors Without Borders said that a charity rescue ship recovered the bodies of 11 migrants off the coast of Libya after rescuing more than 160 people who were on boats near the Libyan coast. The organization stated that its search and rescue ship, “Geo Parents,” rescued 146 migrants in two operations, then found 20 others in a separate boat. But it also recovered 11 bodies that were observed by a surveillance plane floating on the surface of the water. Doctors Without Borders said on the social media platform X: “We do not know the exact cause of this tragedy, but we know that people are still dying, in a desperate attempt to reach safety.”
The United Nations has recorded more than 20,000 deaths and disappearances in the central Mediterranean since 2014, making it the most dangerous migrant crossing in the world.
Italy urged both Tunisia and Libya to make more efforts to prevent potential migrants from trying to cross the sea, and imposed strict restrictions on the operations of rescue ships, saying they were encouraging people to head to Europe, which humanitarian organizations deny.
In another context, the Libyan Public Prosecutor announced the imprisonment of 13 people on charges of involvement in organizing irregular migration operations and human trafficking, and detaining the freedom of others in the Kufra and Tazerbu regions. This step comes as part of an ongoing campaign to combat human trafficking crimes and irregular migration that Libya has increasingly suffered in recent years. As part of this campaign, 197 migrants were freed from forced detention in illegal centers run by criminal groups. The necessary health and psychological care was provided to these migrants after their liberation, in preparation for their return to their countries of origin in coordination with international organizations concerned with immigration and refugee affairs. In addition, the Libyan Investigative Authority issued orders to prosecute 76 other defendants involved in the human smuggling and trafficking network.
The Libyan authorities are working in cooperation with local and international security services to track down and dismantle smuggling networks, in an attempt to reduce this phenomenon, which has been exacerbated by the political and security chaos in recent years.
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