“THE mountains of corpses in front of Europe’s walls are growing,” warned NGO rescuers today following the deaths of 45 people in a shipwreck off the Libyan Coast. The United Nations’ refugee agency (UNHCR) and the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) announced the deaths in a joint statement on Wednesday night. “Some 37 survivors –Continue reading “Europe’s continued blockade of NGO rescue ships condemned as 45 people die in shipwreck off Libya”
Tag Archives: UNHCR
Europe’s militarised borders blamed as 50 refugees drown in the Atlantic trying to reach the Canary Islands
REFUGEE-rights organisations blamed Europe’s militarised borders today as news broke of refugee shipwrecks off the west coast of Africa. Around 50 refugees are reported to have died while attempting to reach Spain’s Canary Islands from Western Sahara in two separate boats on Thursday. The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) confirmedContinue reading “Europe’s militarised borders blamed as 50 refugees drown in the Atlantic trying to reach the Canary Islands”
Italian coastguard abandoned refugees in a wooden boat near Lampedusa
The stranded were finally taken to land after 40 hours adrift in the Mediterranean AN ITALIAN coastguard vessel failed to rescue refugees who were just a nautical mile away from its position in the central Mediterranean on Monday afternoon. The refugee distress hotline organisation Alarm Phone was contacted on Sunday morning by a boat inContinue reading “Italian coastguard abandoned refugees in a wooden boat near Lampedusa”
Sending refugees back to hell with EU support
Piecing together the story from several documents provided by the EU following months of FOI requests, The Civil Fleet exposes how the bloc’s supposed training of the Libyan coastguard has only made things worse THE International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has estimated that 347 people have died trying to reach Europe while crossing the MediterraneanContinue reading “Sending refugees back to hell with EU support”
First refugees rescued off the Libyan coast in 8 weeks as the Sea Watch 3 saves the lives of over 90 people
EU using chartered planes to organise the Libyan Coastguard’s interceptions of refugee boats, NGOs’ report shows RESCUERS today carried out their first mission off the coast of Libya since Italy seized two charity ships eight weeks ago. Sea Watch 3, a vessel operated by German charity Sea Watch, reported at about noon that it hadContinue reading “First refugees rescued off the Libyan coast in 8 weeks as the Sea Watch 3 saves the lives of over 90 people”
‘I pray day and night to get out of Libya’: An interview with a slave (pt.2)
LIBYA is not a safe place. It is not safe for Libyan people and it is certainly not safe for Afghan, Syrian, Bangladeshi, Sudanese, Ivorian or Somali refugees. Since 2014 the country has been fought over by the UN-backed Government of National Accord and the rebel commander Khalifa Haftar’s Libyan National Army (which controls theContinue reading “‘I pray day and night to get out of Libya’: An interview with a slave (pt.2)”
NGOs urge supporters to demand the Italian government releases seized rescue ships
Meanwhile, the IOM and UNHCR put pressure on Malta to bring 160 refugees detained on offshore tour ships to dry land NGO refugee rescuers have demanded the Italian government release two charity ships the authorities seized earlier this month and to start supporting their humanitarian work. The Alan Kurdi and the Aita Mari were detainedContinue reading “NGOs urge supporters to demand the Italian government releases seized rescue ships”
Awkward questions for Malta after details emerge of the ‘ghost ship’ that returned 51 refugees to Libya
AWKWARD questions have been raised over the Maltese government’s involvement in the return of refugees to Libya last week on a ship that may have tried to hide its identity. Four refugee boats attempted to cross the Mediterranean from Libya on April 9 or 10. Two of them made it to safety. One of themContinue reading “Awkward questions for Malta after details emerge of the ‘ghost ship’ that returned 51 refugees to Libya”
‘They lock our legs together with a chain’: An interview with a slave
Ben Cowles speaks with a Somali refugee being held in a bogus ‘refugee camp’ in Libya, caught while trying to reach Europe I SPOKE with a slave last week. An African man from Somalia trapped in a detention centre in Libya. He told me his name but I promised not to mention it. He fearsContinue reading “‘They lock our legs together with a chain’: An interview with a slave”
Turkish naval ship aids pushback of refugees to Libya
Meanwhile NGOs remain the only ships in the Mediterranean to rescue people fleeing the war zone A TURKISH naval ship aided the return of refugees to war-torn Libya today after pulling around 30 people from a dinghy in the central Mediterranean Sea in the morning. Turkey’s National Defence Department tweeted a video today of oneContinue reading “Turkish naval ship aids pushback of refugees to Libya”
The Civil Fleet 