The rescue ship Geo Barents has landed in Taranto, southern Italy, to disembark 267 people rescued over the last week. Meanwhile, the Humanity 1 currently has 111 persons on board, following its first rescure operation.
Every year, hundreds of people go missing on their way to Europe. While the Mediterranean Sea is infamous for being one of the deadliest migration routes, other places such as the Sahara desert are also extremely dangerous. InfoMigrants spoke with Lucile Marbeau, spokesperson for the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC).
Giorgia Meloni, the leader of the far right FdI party and election frontrunner, has proposed a naval blockade in the Mediterranean to stop migration to Italy. Left-leaning politicians and a Catholic aid organization say the proposal is anti-democratic and violates international treaties.
Tunisian authorities blocked 7,000 Tunisians and nearly 9,000 foreigners from crossing the Mediterranean so far in 2022, according to a government official.
More than 2,000 Tunisian minors made the perilous Mediterranean crossing from the North African country to Italy so far this year, Tunisian rights group FTDES has said. Tunisians currently account for the greatest number of migrants arriving in Italy.
Doctors without Borders says its Geo Barents ship, with 106 rescued migrants on board, has been given permission to dock in Taranto, southern Italy.
Twenty people were rescued from the Mediterranean by Italian officials some 12 miles off Lampedusa on Wednesday. Meanwhile, Tunisian authorities intercepted more than 120 people enroute to Italy between Tuesday and Thursday.
Italy’s anti-immigration former interior minister, Matteo Salvini, has warned that his country will not host "the refugee camp of Europe" as he visited the island of Lampedusa on a campaign stop for elections in September.
Three NGO rescue ships – the Geo Barents, the Ocean Viking and the Sea-Watch 3 – are currently waiting in the Central Mediterranean for a port to disembark the over 1,400 migrants they have rescued over the past week.
Tripoli's SSA security force are reportedly torturing, beating and humiliating migrants in detention facilities after intercepting their boats in the Mediterranean. The SSA indirectly draws money from funds provided by the EU as part of the bloc's efforts to stem the flow of migrants to European shores, the report added.
Italy's prime minister Mario Draghi visited Algeria on Monday. The summit was one in a long line of deepening relations between the two countries, which began most recently last November. Energy, migration and stability in the Mediterranean were on the agenda.
Since the beginning of the year, 4,154 Egyptian migrants have arrived on the shores of Italy. This represents a threefold increase compared to the same period last year. Confronted with an economic crisis and wide-spread repression at home, they consider leaving Egypt by boat as their only option.