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| Europe |
| Fourth aid group stops migrant rescue missions in Mediterranean |
| 2017-09-05 |
| [DW] The charity MOAS, which has rescued some 40,000 The Malta-based Migrant Offshore Aid Station (MOAS) on Monday cited an "increasingly complex context" for its decision to suspend operations to rescue MOAS criticized the EU's efforts to stem the latest wave of The charity said Libya was not a safe place to return the "At the moment it is unclear what is going on in Libya to the detriment of the most vulnerable people there," the charity said in a statement. "MOAS does not want to become part of a mechanism where there is no guarantee of safe harbor or welcome for those being assisted and rescued at sea," it added. Instead, the aid group said it would transfer its rescue ship Phoenix to the Bay of Bengal to help persecuted Rohingya Moslems fleeing Myanmar. Since it began operations in the Mediterranean in 2014, MOAS has helped in the rescue or transfer of some 40,000 But its work has been complicated in recent months by a stepped up response to the migrant issue by European governments. The EU is funding a project to equip and train the Libyan coastguard, whose boats have fallen into disrepair following years of neglect in the wake of the fall of longtime dictator Moamar Qadaffy. The Italian navy has been deployed in recent weeks to repair Libyan ships. MOAS becomes the fourth group to stop patrols in the Mediterranean amid rising tensions with Libya and Italia over where rescued Last month, a Libyan coastguard boat intercepted a charity ship and ordered it to sail to Tripoli ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn... or risk being fired on. In response, Doctors Without Borders, followed by Save the Children and Germany's Sea Eye suspended their operations. They said their crews could no longer work safely. The exodus leaves just Proactiva Open Arms, Sea Watch and SOS Mediterranee still running rescue operations. On Monday, the Aquarius, operated by SOS Mediterranee, was the only rescue ship in the Mediterranean. The aid groups have also faced accusations of collusion with people smugglers in North Africa, which all 10 charities have denied. Since July, there has been a sharp drop in departures from the Libyan coast. Some 15,373 Some 13,000 The transfer of MOAS' operations to Asia comes as some 90,000 Rohingya Moslems have fled violence in Myanmar's Rakhine state to neighboring Bangladesh. MOAS said it planned to provide aid and humanitarian assistance to the Rohingya people. |
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