Date: Monday, 12 December 2016
http://www.dw.com/en/refugees-in-seven-boats-rescued-off-libya/a-36730021 MEDITERRANEAN 12 December 2016 Refugees in seven boats rescued off Libya Charities and Italy's coastguard say they rescued 1,164 refugees from stricken rubber and wooden boats off Libya during thunderstorms as winter approaches. Six persons bound for Europe died. Relief services said the occupants of seven boats were rescued from the central Mediterranean on Sunday in stormy weather. Six bodies were recovered. "It bucketed down during today's rescues. Winter on the Mediterranean is next-level grim," said Doctors Without Borders (MSF) in a Twitter message. The six deaths add to a toll of more than 4,700 people counted by the International Organization for Migration so far this year. Baby born on board Most were en route to Italy from Libya, where traffickers profit. By last week, 173,000 migrants had registered as having reached southern Italian ports this year, according to Italy's interior ministry. Italy's coastguard said its vessels were deployed Sunday along with those of the EU's naval mission, NAVFOR MED, the Italy navy, and the vessel Aquarius run by a humanitarian group SOS Mediterranean. Sunday's birth of a baby boy on board Aquarius to a Nigerian woman rescued on Saturday had been "good news that cheered up the whole crew," said the aid group on its website. Mali-EU agree deal The EU's Dutch presidency said Sunday that the bloc had signed an agreement with Mali on the return of migrants who have reached Europe's shores and had been refused asylum. It was the first such mechanism agreed with an African country, said the Dutch foreign ministry. At a summit in November 2015 on Malta, EU leaders agreed with African counterparts to set up a 1.8-billion-euro ($1.9-billion) fund to address root causes of migration. In return, African nations would step up controls and accept repatriations of those deemed as not needing asylum protection. ipj/kl (AFP, Reuters) http://www.thelocal.it/20161212/six-dead-in-new-med-migrant-tragedy Six dead in new Med migrant tragedy AFP 12 December 2016 Six people died and a total of 1,164 people were rescued during operations to save stricken migrant boats in the Mediterranean on Sunday, Italy's coastguard said. Vessels operated by the coastguard, the EU's naval operation EU NAVFOR MED and the Italian navy were deployed along with the Aquarius, operated by the Doctors without Borders (MSF) charity, to help migrants on six rubber dinghies and one larger wooden boat that had got into trouble off Libya. This year has already set a new record for the number of migrants arriving at Italy's southern ports with more than 173,000 registered by the interior ministry up until the start of last week. According to the UN, at least 4,700 people have died attempting the often perilous crossing on boats chartered by people smugglers.
