The Benghazi-based Anti-Illegal Migration Agency stated that 114 migrants from Sudan and Chad have been successfully deported.
The statement added that “among those deported were five individuals, who were suffering from various illnesses, including a couple with AIDS.”
The migrants were first transferred to the Al-Kufra Detention Center, before being deported.
Notably, 117 migrants were rescued by the Spanish humanitarian organisation, Open Arms.
This most recent rescue underscores the ongoing crisis as thousands of people from conflict-ridden regions of Africa and the Middle East put their lives in jeopardy annually, fleeing from desperate situations.
Just a week ago, a devastating incident occurred where a shipwreck off Greece claimed at least 78 lives, as hundreds of migrants were crammed into a fishing vessel. These tragedies draw attention back to the continuous plight of migrants.
Open Arms, sharing details about the rescue operation, reported that the 117 rescued individuals, including 25 women and a toddler, are primarily from Eritrea, Sudan, and Libya. The high-risk rescue operation transpired 30 kilometers offshore of Libya, in international waters, following the boat’s stealthy departure from the port of Sabratha at 01:00 GMT.
Upon their rescue, the migrants underwent medical checks aboard the Open Arms ship. The charity has yet to release additional details regarding the migrants’ final destination.
Open Arms is a non-governmental organisation that operates in various areas of humanitarian aid, both nationally and internationally. Its main mission is to protect those people who try to reach Europe fleeing from war, persecution, or poverty. The organisation was born to specialise in surveillance and rescue missions, for boats carrying people who need help in the Aegean and Central Mediterranean seas.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has said that a total of 7,477 migrants have been rescued and returned to Libya so far this year.
Due to the insecurity and chaos in the country since the fall of late leader, Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011, many migrants, mostly Africans, choose to cross the Mediterranean to European shores via Libya.