TUNIS: Tunisian authorities were on Saturday stopping 75 migrants saved at sea from coming ashore, according to a rights group and the captain of the ship which rescued them.
The migrants were adrift in international waters in a boat with a broken engine when an Egyptian tug boat brought them aboard, the captain said on condition of anonymity.
After notifying authorities in Italy and Malta, the crew headed for the southern Tunisian port of Zarzis where authorities refused to allow the ship to dock.
“We’re in a critical situation, we’re nearly 100 on board and we don’t have more than two days of supplies of water and food,” the captain told AFP by phone.
Tunisian rights organization FTDES said the regional governor demanded government support before accepting the migrants, following an increase in new arrivals from neighboring Libya in recent months.
Tunisian authorities did not respond to AFP’s requests for comment.
The crew of the tug boat rescued 64 Bangladeshis, nine Egyptians, one Moroccan and one Sudanese, who had departed from Zuwara in western Libya, according to FTDES.
Last month, around 60 migrants, most from Bangladesh, drowned off the coast of Tunisia after leaving Libya on a boat bound for Europe.
There has been a significant reduction in rescue vessels operating in the Mediterranean Sea in recent months, with humanitarian boats facing legal woes as countries such as Italy impose a hard-line migration policy.
Tunisia stops rescued migrants from coming ashore
Tunisia stops rescued migrants from coming ashore
Lebanon PM Nawaf Salam says he will not allow anyone to drag the country into new conflicts
- Salam said Hezbollah can threaten to become further involved between Iran, Israel and the US, but the Lebanese government has full control
DUBAI: Lebanon’s Prime Minister Nawaf Salam said that Lebanon has had enough ventures in the past and that he would not allow anyone to drag the country into new conflicts.
Speaking at the World Governments Summit on Tuesday, Salam said Lebanon has been involved in the war on Gaza over the last couple of years, and the damage it has cost them has been massive.
Salam said Hezbollah can threaten to become further involved between Iran, Israel and the US, but the Lebanese government has full control over the southern region and will not allow further involvement.
“For the first time since 1996, the Lebanese government through the Lebanese Armed Forces … has full control over the south of the country,” he said.
“No one is ready to involve the country in further adventures which could cost us more and will not engage in further ventures and conflicts,” he added.
“We are aware that we are in one of the most tense regions in the world. We need to fortify ourselves by working on restoring the decision on peace and war in Lebanon,” he added.
Salam said Lebanon’s goal was to reform its sovereignty and attract global investment.
“People only focus on reforms in financial institutions, but reforms are much wider than that for my government, which of course means financial reform, but administrative reforms are also important and needed,” he added.
Salam said that attracting investment requires achieving a sense of security in the country, not only for the Lebanese people but for the world.
“Reform and sovereignty go hand in hand. We need to restore the Lebanese state and the confidence in our people,” he explained.
Salam emphasized his country’s position in achieving judicial, security and financial reforms and said he will not allow anyone to do their work for them.
“All we want from our brothers here is to support our journey, but not take our place or play our role,” he said, referring to countries of the Gulf Cooperation Council.
The minister said there would be a conference soon to support the Lebanese Armed Forces, and he invited all Arab leaders to participate in this event, adding that it was a way to enhance Lebanon’s security.
