ROME: The German NGO Sea Watch rescued around 100 migrants off of Libya on Wednesday, saying the Libyan coast guard would have turned them back to shore if the humanitarian group had not intervened.
The dinghy was found 29 nautical miles off Zawyia, 40 kilometers (25 miles) west of Tripoli, Sea Watch said on Twitter, adding that several of the migrants, who included women and children, were given immediate medical attention.
Left-wing Italian humanitarian group Mediterranea, which also patrols the region in the Mare Jonio, said the Libyan coast guard “captured” another migrant boat earlier Wednesday near Tripoli.
“We had to watch powerless as Libyan militiamen intervened... violating all international conventions by pushing dozens of refugees toward the bombs and the torture they were trying to escape,” Mediterranea said in a statement.
The coast guard vessel sped past the Mare Jonio to reach “a boat that was nearly immobile and therefore in obvious difficulty,” it said.
When the Italian ship reached the dinghy, it was “empty... damaged and deflated, and as usual the engine was already gone.”
The German and Italian rescue ships were allowed to resume operations in the central Mediterranean at the beginning of June after the Italian authorities held them at port for two months citing “technical reasons.”
Warmer weather and better sailing conditions are expected to lead to a surge in attempts by migrants to reach Italy from Libya.
Germany’s Sea Watch rescues 100 migrants off Libya
https://arab.news/9rf5p
Germany’s Sea Watch rescues 100 migrants off Libya
- The dinghy was found 40 kilometers west of Tripoli, several of the migrants, who included women and children, were given immediate medical attention
- Warmer weather and better sailing conditions are expected to lead to a surge in attempts by migrants to reach Italy from Libya
Bangladesh’s religio-political party open to unity govt
- Opinion polls suggest that Jamaat-e-Islami will finish a close second to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in the first election it has contested in nearly 17 years
DHAKA: A once-banned Bangladeshi religio-political party, poised for its strongest electoral showing in February’s parliamentary vote, is open to joining a unity government and has held talks with several parties, its chief said.
Opinion polls suggest that Jamaat-e-Islami will finish a close second to the Bangladesh Nationalist Party in the first election it has contested in nearly 17 years as it marks a return to mainstream politics in the predominantly Muslim nation of 175 million.
Jamaat last held power between 2001 and 2006 as a junior coalition partner with the BNP and is open to working with it again.
“We want to see a stable nation for at least five years. If the parties come together, we’ll run the government together,” Jamaat chief Shafiqur Rahman said in an interview at his office in a residential area in Dhaka, days after the party created a buzz by securing a tie-up with a Gen-Z party.
Rahman said anti-corruption must be a shared agenda for any unity government.
The prime minister will come from the party winning the most seats in the Feb. 12 election, he added. If Jamaat wins the most seats, the party will decide whether he himself would be a candidate, Rahman said.
The party’s resurgence follows the ousting of long-time Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina in a youth-led uprising in August 2024.
Rahman said Hasina’s continued stay in India after fleeing Dhaka was a concern, as ties between the two countries have hit their lowest point in decades since her downfall.
Asked about Jamaat’s historical closeness to Pakistan, Rahman said: “We maintain relations in a balanced way with all.”
He said any government that includes Jamaat would “not feel comfortable” with President Mohammed Shahabuddin, who was elected unopposed with the Awami League’s backing in 2023.
