Amnesty International called the European Union “negligent” over the deaths of 17,000 migrants in 2015. The blame is solely placed on Italy, who ended their Mare Nostrum search and rescue operation shortly before the latest wave of migrants began fleeing Libya.
The European Union’s summit to deal with the Mediterranean refugee crisis is underway, and based on leaked documents, it appears a major component of the strategy will involve returning most migrants to their countries of origin.
In the wake of a horrible tragedy in the Mediterranean that appears to have drowned over 800 refugees, the European Union called a summit, scheduled to begin on Thursday, to consider options for dealing with the Libyan crisis. According to a report at the Telegraph & Argus, experts are “warning the death toll could reach the tens of thousands as growing numbers of desperate migrants take to the waters in overcrowded and unseaworthy boats.”
Italian police have arrested the captain and first mate of the ship which foundered in the Mediterranean over the weekend, causing catastrophic loss of life. Both have been charged with people trafficking; the captain has also been charged with reckless
Distress calls have been received from at least two more boats in the Mediterranean carrying migrants, with reports of 20 further fatalities, including children. The Italian coast guard is believed to be asking commercial vessels in the area to respond
Europol, the EU police agency, has launched a taskforce dedicated to rooting out the people traffickers who last year sent 170,000 illegal migrants in a perilous journey across the Mediterranean. 3,000 of those shipped across died as overloaded boats sank
