Armed men in two speedboats seized women and children from a deflating rubber dinghy carrying 112 migrants off Libya’s coast Thursday, leaving dozens of men and boys to jump into the sea, Doctors Without Borders reported Friday.
The humanitarian group’s vessel Geo Barents rescued 83 men and unaccompanied minors, including 70 pulled from the water, after arriving at the scene in international waters. The speedboats, claiming to represent the Libyan Coast Guard, had initially promised to transfer 24 women and four children back to the rescue ship after the men were saved, but instead fled with them aboard.
“Many people were on an overcrowded rubber dinghy that was deflating, and they were threatened by armed men, who fired shots,” said Maria Eliana Tunno, a psychologist aboard the Geo Barents. One man jumped overboard trying to reach his wife and two children, including a four-month-old baby.
The rescued migrants, from Eritrea, Yemen, and Ethiopia, were “very tired, desperate and under shock,” Tunno reported, noting many had suffered abuse in Libya. Doctors Without Borders (MSF) called the incident “unacceptable” and urged regional authorities to help reunite the separated families.
The incident occurs amid declining migration numbers to Italy, with 62,000 arrivals by sea this year compared to over 152,000 during the same period in 2023. The United Nations reports 2,124 migrants have died attempting the Central Mediterranean crossing this year.
Italian Premier Giorgia Meloni’s government has implemented policies to reduce migration, including multi-million euro agreements with Tunisia and Egypt to prevent departures and plans for migrant screening centers in Albania.
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