TRIPOLI: The Libyan navy has ordered foreign vessels to stay out of a coastal “search and rescue zone” for migrants headed for Europe, a measure it said targeted non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
“We want to send out a clear message to all those who infringe Libyan sovereignty and lack respect for the coast guard and navy,” Libyan navy spokesman General Ayoub Qassem told a news conference in Tripoli.
Gen. Abdelhakim Bouhaliya, commander of the Tripoli naval base where the conference was held, said: “No foreign ship has the right to enter” the area without authorization from the Libyan authorities.
Libya has “officially declared a search and rescue zone,” said Bouhaliya, without specifying the scope of the exclusion zone.
Qassem said the measure was aimed against “NGOs which pretend to want to rescue illegal migrants and carry out humanitarian actions.”
He urged humanitarian organizations to “respect our will... and obtain authorization from the Libyan state even for rescue operations.”
Italy has also said it wants to keep a tighter rein on NGOs helping the multinational search and rescue operation by making them sign up to a new code of conduct.
Italian authorities last week impounded a boat operated by German aid organization Jugend Rettet on suspicion its crew effectively collaborated with people traffickers in a way that facilitated illegal immigration.
Its crew is suspected of taking on board migrants delivered directly to them by people traffickers, and of allowing the smugglers to make off with their dinghies to be used again.
The Libyan coast guard has accused NGOs of aiding people traffickers in their lucrative business.
Six years since a revolution that toppled longtime dictator Muammar Qaddafi, Libya has become a key departure point for migrants risking their lives to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.
Italy, the main destination of the people traffickers, has sent naval vessels at the request of Libya’s UN-backed Government of National Accord to assist Tripoli, on a mission disputed by rival authorities in eastern Libya.
More than 111,000 migrants have reached Europe by sea so far this year, the vast majority of them arriving in Italy, according to the latest figures from the International Organization for Migration.
Over 2,300 have died attempting the crossing.
Libya navy bars foreign ships from migrant ‘search and rescue’ zone
Libya navy bars foreign ships from migrant ‘search and rescue’ zone
Ceasefire with Kurdish-led force extended for another 15 days, Syrian army says
- The defense ministry said the extension was in support of an operation by US forces to transfer accused Daesh militants to Iraq
- The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces confirmed the ceasefire extension
RAQQA, Syria: Hours after the expiration of a four-day truce between the Syrian government and Kurdish-led fighters Saturday, Syria’s defense ministry announced the ceasefire had been extended by another 15 days.
The defense ministry said in a statement that the extension was in support of an operation by US forces to transfer accused Daesh militants who had been held in prisons in northeastern Syria to detention centers in Iraq.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces confirmed the ceasefire extension.
“Our forces affirm their commitment to the agreement and their dedication to respecting it, which contributes to de-escalation, the protection of civilians, and the creation of the necessary conditions for stability,” the group said in a statement.
Over the past three weeks, there have been intense clashes between government forces and the SDF, in which the SDF lost large parts of the area they once controlled.
Earlier in the day, the Kurdish-led force called on the international community to prevent any escalation.
The end of the truce came as government forces have been sending reinforcements to Syria’s northeast.
Syria’s interim government signed an agreement last March with the SDF for it to hand over territory and to eventually merge its fighters with government forces. In early January, a new round of talks failed to make progress over the merger, leading to renewed fighting between the two sides.
A new version of the accord was signed last weekend, and a four-day ceasefire was declared Tuesday. Part of the new deal is that SDF members will have to merge into the army and police forces as individuals.
The SDF said in a statement Saturday that military buildups and logistical movements by government forces have been observed, “clearly indicating an intent to escalate and push the region toward a new confrontation.” The SDF said it will continue to abide by the truce.
On Saturday, state TV said authorities on Saturday released 126 boys under the age of 18 who were held at the Al-Aqtan prison near the northern city of Raqqa that was taken by government forces Friday. The teenagers were taken to the city of Raqqa where they were handed over to their families, the TV station said.
The prison is also home to some of the 9,000 members of the Daesh group who are held in northeastern Syria. Most of them remain held in jails run by the SDF. Government forces have so far taken control of two prisons while the rest are still run by the SDF.
Earlier this week, the US military said that some 7,000 Daesh detainees will be transferred to detention centers in neighboring Iraq.
On Wednesday, the US military said that 150 prisoners have been taken to Iraq.
