TRIPOLI, Oct 4 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Seventy migrants headed for Europe across the Mediterranean Sea from Libya have gone missing, the independent support group Alarm Phone said.
Separately, the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said 89 migrants and two bodies had been brought by boat to the Libyan capital Tripoli Saturday, but 40 more were still missing.
It was not immediately clear whether the two organisations were talking about the same group of migrants.
Alarm Phone said a boat with 70 people on board had been missing for four days after leaving the port of Khoms, some 120 kilometres west of the capital.
“They departed from Khoms, #Libya, & called AlarmPhone several times,” it tweeted.
“When we lost contact, they were in Malta SAR (search and rescue) zone, 18 kilometres to Italian waters, but there is no record of their rescue or arrival. Authorities are silent.”
The UNHCR said in a tweet that the 89 survivors brought to Tripoli on Saturday included eight women and three children.
It said 40 more were “missing after the group set off on hazardous journey in wooden + rubber boats”.
Alarm Phone criticised authorities in Malta and Italy.
“Why did Maltese and Italian authorities refuse first to rescue, then to provide information on their fate? Were the 70 people left to die? Were they secretly pushed back to #Libya? We demand answers!” it said.
Tens of thousands of people seek to cross the central Mediterranean each year, normally setting off from Libya and aiming for the Italian coast, but it is often a deadly journey.
At least 1,369 people have died on the route so far this year, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in early September.
Meanwhile, the UN Security Council has renewed the authorization of vessel inspection and seizure off the coast of Libya to curb migrant smuggling and human trafficking.
Resolution 2598, which won the unanimous support of the 15 members of the council, renewed the authorization for 12 months from the date of adoption of the resolution.
The resolution allows member states, acting nationally or through regional organizations, to inspect vessels on the high seas off the coast of Libya suspected of migrant smuggling or human trafficking.
It also allows the seizure of vessels that are confirmed as being used for such activities.
The resolution requests the UN secretary-general to report to the Security Council on its implementation 11 months after its adoption. — NNN-AGENCIES
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