Migrant boat adrift and returned to “unsafe” Libyan port
A boat of 485 migrants, previously feared drowned, has been returned to Libya, according to Arab World.
A boat of nearly 500 migrants who lost contact with charity groups on May 24th was adrift at sea and without a working engine. At the time of last contact, the boat was about 320km (200 miles) north of Libya and more than 400 km away from Malta or Italy’s Southern island of Sicily.
The Italian Coast Guard reported rescuing other large groups of migrants, but none were confirmed to be this specific boat of migrants.
READ: EU under pressure from Italy over Libya’s African migrants
After two days of no contact with the boat of migrants, the UN migration agency has confirmed that they have been returned to the Libyan port of Benghazi. According to Flavio Di Giacomo, a spokesman for the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM), this port is “unsafe” and one where “migrants should never be brought back” as occurrences of migrant abuse have been extensively reported.
No other details have been reported concerning the safety or future of the migrants at the Benghazi port.
