BARCELONA: Authorities on the European island nation of Malta have contested accusations made by a group of nongovernmental organizations a day earlier regarding a migrant boat in distress.
“Following multiple verifications of reported position through multiple searches, no boat was sighted in the reported position,” the Armed Forces of Malta said in an email to The Associated Press on Tuesday.
On Monday, four rescue groups operating in the central Mediterranean accused Maltese authorities of coordinating the return of around 500 people to eastern Libya where they were subsequently imprisoned, in violation of international maritime law.
The group of migrants, including 55 children and pregnant women, had been trying to reach Europe on May 23 aboard a rusty iron fishing vessel when they reported to Alarm Phone — a hotline for migrants in distress — that they were adrift and taking in water, according to the NGO.
Communicating by satellite phone, the migrants shared their GPS location with Alarm Phone multiple times, showing they were in international waters inside Malta’s area of search and rescue responsibility.
Alarm Phone say they relayed their position and distress to Maltese authorities repeatedly, but received no confirmation that a rescue operation had been launched. Humanitarian rescue ships and plane also searched for the vessel in vain. Alarm Phone lost contact with the migrants on the morning of May 24.
Two days later, Alarm Phone says relatives of the migrants reported they had been returned to Benghazi, Libya, and imprisoned.
The International Organization for Migration and the UN Refugee Agency told The Associated Press that 485 people were brought back to Benghazi by a vessel belonging to the self-styled Libyan National Army, a force in the east of the country led by military commander Khalifa Haftar.
IOM spokesperson Safa Msehli said that the migrants were taken to the Qanfouda detention center, but couldn’t confirm that it was the same group of people reported by Alarm Phone.
Both UN agencies have repeatedly condemned the return of migrants and refugees to Libya, saying the lawless nation shouldn’t be considered a safe place for disembarkation as required by international maritime law.
In their emailed statement, Maltese authorities added that they “have no jurisdiction over any autonomous actions conducted in international waters.”
Malta says it didn’t find migrant boat in distress alerted by NGOs
https://arab.news/bx86v
Malta says it didn’t find migrant boat in distress alerted by NGOs
- The Armed Forces of Malta said “following multiple verifications of reported position through multiple searches, no boat was sighted in the reported position"
- Rescue groups operating in the Mediterranean accused Maltese authorities coordinating the return of around 500 people to eastern Libya
Six killed in Mississippi, suspect charged with murder
- The victims — family members related to the suspect — were shot at three separate locations
- One of the victims was a child
MISSISSIPPI: Authorities have charged a 24-year-old man with murder after six people were killed in a series of shootings in northeast Mississippi.
Clay County Sheriff Eddie Scott said the victims — family members related to the suspect — were shot at three separate locations late Friday. One of the victims was a child.
“I don’t know what kind of motive you could have to kill a 7-year-old,” he said at a press conference Saturday.
Sheriff’s Deputy Steven Woodruff identified Daricka M. Moore as the suspect. He faces a first-degree murder charge that could be upgraded to capital murder, Scott said. He may also face additional murder charges.
The shootings took place in the rural community of Cedarbluff, which is west of the county seat of West Point.
