The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports that up to 600 people attempting to reach Europe by sea from Tunisia and Libya have gone missing in the first three months of 2022. This marks the highest such figure since 2014.
At least four migrants were confirmed dead and three missing after their boat capsized off the Libyan coast. With warmer weather, scores of migrants continue to try to cross the Mediterranean, departing from the shores of the troubled North African nation.
Two groups of migrants were rescued from the Central Mediterranean Sea by the Ocean Viking ship on Thursday. Hundreds of others due to disembark from the Geo Barents in Sicily were forced to remain on board without explanation.
A court in Sicily is set to decide whether to go ahead with a case against four crew members of the migrant rescue ship, Iuventa. The four German activists and 17 others are accused of aiding and abetting illegal immigration.
A court in Palermo has heard that migrants who were stranded on board the Open Arms rescue ship in 2019 suffered "dire conditions" and psychological distress. Italy's former interior minister Matteo Salvini is facing trial for refusing to allow the migrants to disembark.
A group of 58 rescued migrants disembarked from the Sea-Eye 4 in Pozzallo, Sicily, on Sunday. Meanwhile, the Geo Barents and Sea-Watch 4 rescue ships – carrying more than 600 migrants together – are still waiting for a port to dock.
Three private rescue ships in the Mediterranean are now waiting for ports in which to disembark the more than 500 migrants they collectively rescued. Sea-Watch 4 has 145 on board, the Geo Barents 470, and 34 people are on deck the Sea-Eye 4.
Daoud was born and raised in Libya to parents originally from Guinea. His fiancé Aisha was also born in Libya and grew up there, but holds Malian nationality. Despite spending their entire lives in Libya, they doubt they have a future there because there's no path to citizenship for them.
On Sunday evening, the private rescue ship, Sea-Watch 4 announced it had rescued "88 people from distress at sea." The ship's crew reported they now have 145 on board. The Sea-Eye 4 also picked up 34 people from a cargo ship, after the migrants had spent at least four nights at sea.
Libyan militias have rejected claims that they are responsible for human rights abuses against migrants. They have threatened to sue Amnesty International over the accusations of unlawful killings, interceptions and arbitrary detention.
Early Wednesday morning, Libya’s coast guard reportedly issued numerous threats against the rescue ship Sea-Eye 4 in the Mediterranean, urging it to leave "Libyan territory." However, Sea-Eye says that the vessel was in international waters at the time, where ships are allowed to move freely.
After more than a week on board the rescue ship 'Geo Barents', 101 people have been allowed to disembark in Italy. Nearly 300 others, many of them minors, are still waiting at sea on the Ocean Viking rescue vessel.