The Libyan Coast Guard has forcibly returned thousands of migrants captured at sea back to the war-mired country since April, in disregard of international law and with the support of the European Union, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) told Sputnik in an interview
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 01st November, 2019) The Libyan Coast Guard has forcibly returned thousands of migrants captured at sea back to the war-mired country since April, in disregard of international law and with the support of the European Union, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) told Sputnik in an interview.Michael Fark, the MSF head of mission for Libya and the Mediterranean, noted that since clashes in Tripoli resumed in April, the situation "remains extremely concerning for all civilians, not only refugees and migrants."
"Since then, almost 8,000 refugees and migrants who risked their lives at sea in attempts to escape have been returned to the country in violation of international law by the EU-enabled Libyan Coast Guard," Fark said.
In addition, he went on, there are 4,500 refugees and migrants who remain trapped in detention centers in the "most vulnerable" conditions. Meanwhile, only 1,733 refugees and migrants have been evacuated or resettled from Libya in 2019.
"These efforts have been slow and inadequate, with nearly five times as many intercepted by the EU supported Libyan coastguard and forcibly returned to the very same conditions that people are fleeing from. It is clear for those held inside these detention centres there is no quick solution for them as evacuation and resettlement efforts continuing to be outstripped by the needs," the MSF mission head stressed.
Conflict-hit Libya has turned into a transit point for illegal migrants seeking to reach Europe, with illegal armed groups controlling the human smuggling business.
The EU has been unable to work out a common policy toward asylum seekers. It has, however, formed a joint task force with the United Nations and the African Union to encourage the evacuation of refugees from Libya. In September, the Rwandan government agreed to take in some of the migrants.
