The non-governmental sea rescue organization “SOS Méditerranée” said that it is concerned about the violence off the coast of Libya, pointing out that these practices endanger the lives of exiles, and raise the concerns of non-governmental organizations. According to what she said
The organization added that it had noticed an increase in acts of violence against exiles during its operations off the coast of Libya in recent months, noting that Ocean Viking teams had repeatedly seen masked and armed men on boats, forcing migrants into the water, under the eyes of humanitarian workers.
SOS Méditerranée Communications Director, Giorgia Gerometti, said that the humanitarian space at sea is shrinking, stressing that they face more and more obstacles that complicate their work and make rescue operations more important and dangerous, she said.
Girometti explained in her interview with the Info Migrant website that on July 9, while the teams were evacuating the afflicted people, two unidentified boats arrived near the scene of the accident, where two armed and masked men boarded the migrant boat, causing a moment of panic and about 20 exiles jumped out. In the water for fear of being returned to Libya.
Girometti pointed to similar incidents in which migrants were sometimes forced to jump into the water without jackets, confirming that they were able to rescue them and bring them safely aboard their ship, she said.
Girometti also pointed out that the Ocean Viking, and some other humanitarian ships, have been threatened several times by the Libyan Coast Guard in recent years, but SOS Méditerranée claims that it has never had to confront “unidentified persons” until now, she said.
The Info Maigran website said that humanitarian ships sail in a very limited part of the Mediterranean Sea, and that the presence of these non-governmental organizations is no guarantee of relief for migrants who want to try to cross from the African coast.
The website pointed out that many boats pass unnoticed in the huge sea, and many boats sink without being detected, noting that the central Mediterranean remains to this day the deadliest sea route in the world.
Source: InfoMaigran website