The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) evacuated on Thursday, May 4, 179 migrants from Libya to Niger. The group included children, women at risk, survivors of violence, people with serious medical conditions, survivors of trafficking and some who had recently been released from detention, according to UNHCR. “During the stay in the Emergency Transit Mechanism (ETM) in Niger, UNHCR provides asylum-seekers and refugees with accommodation, assistance and services, including medical care, psychosocial support, and language classes,” the U.N. agency said in a statement via Facebook.
On the other hand, the German NGO Sea-Watch has accused the Italian Coast Guard of returning around 30 irregular migrants to Libya after they were rescued by the ship “Sea-Watch 3” in late April. The Sea-Watch 3 rescued the migrants in the Mediterranean Sea and informed the Sea-Watch plane that the Italian Coast Guard had ordered them to return the migrants to Libya, based on instructions from the Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Rome.
