Int'l Migration Agency Voices Concern Over Safety Of People Traveling To Europe From Libya

The International Organization for Migration expressed on Friday its concern regarding the safety of irregular migrants departing for Europe from Libya, as its capital of Tripoli has seen the heaviest shelling since April

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 22nd November, 2019) The International Organization for Migration expressed on Friday its concern regarding the safety of irregular migrants departing for Europe from Libya, as its capital of Tripoli has seen the heaviest shelling since April.

Earlier in the week, nine boats with more than 600 undocumented migrants were discovered on the central Mediterranean route, right in the middle, according to the IOM. The tenth one arrived at the Italian island of Lampedusa on Thursday.

"IOM is deeply concerned about the safety of migrants who are vulnerable to clashes, human trafficking and abuse as the security situation further deteriorates," Federico Soda, the chief of IOM mission in Libya, said.

He stressed that Libya was not a safe point of departure, necessitating the creation of a safe disembarkation mechanism to shield migrants from harm.

The IOM also urged the European Union and the African Union to make drastic changes to their approaches to the events in Libya.

Libya is one of the main transit countries for migrants. According to UN figures, the vast majority of migrants, about 90 percent, who cross the Mediterranean to Europe depart from the North African state.

The country is currently divided between two governments, with the eastern part controlled by the Libyan National Army, headed by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar, and the western part governed by the UN-backed Government of National Accord. Since April, the sides have been engaged in a violent confrontation.

The civil war in Libya, as well as the unstable situation in the region, has brought the humanitarian situation in the country to a critical state.