Nearly 1,000 migrants were rescued this weekend by Libya during several rescues at sea. In one week, the coastguard rescued 2,000 people on board with their ships.
The Libyan coastguard rescued 948 African migrants and recovered 10 bodies on Sunday during several relief operations off the Libyan coast, authorities and a witness at a naval base reported.
These operations bring to nearly 2,000 the number of mainly African migrants who have been repatriated to Libya after a fail attempt to cross Italy during the past week.
Several groups of migrants saved
“The coastguards rescued several clandestine migrant groups. The first group consisted of 97 people in a rubber dinghy and the second group consisted of 361 people in two rubber boats, “said Libyan naval spokesman Ayoub Kassem.
Among these 458 migrants were 110 women and 70 children, he said.
A witness at the Libyan naval base of Abu Sittah in Tripoli, said that a third group of 490 migrants had been rescued off the coast of Libya. Among them, 75 were women and 20 children.
A Conflictual subject between Europeans
Western Libya is currently the main point of departure for thousands of migrants fleeing misery and conflict and seeking to travel to Europe. This subject now divides the Europeans.
This month, the Italian Minister of the Interior, Matteo Salvini, declared that no more ship of humanitarian NGOs could land in Italy to land migrants. Thus, the ship Aquarius was left at sea for several days with more than 600 migrants on board, before Spain accepts to welcome them.
Italy on Sunday accused Malta of refusing to take a Dutch-flagged humanitarian ship, with more than 230 migrants on board at one of its ports.
