100 persons feared dead after migrant boat capsizes off Libya
5312 Mins Read
CNN: The lifeless bodies of three babies, dressed in brightly colored clothing and looking almost as if they were sleeping, were carried carefully ashore Friday in Libya.
Held in the outstretched arms of three men close to the water’s edge, one of the babies was still wearing sneakers, fastened shut with pink Velcro straps, another with red socks that matched a pair of red and white dotted pants and the third barefoot, partially wrapped with a makeshift covering.
The Libyans managed to rescue 14 migrants from the group, the coast guard’s spokesman, Ayoub Gassim, told The Associated Press. He couldn’t provide definitive numbers for the migrants who were on board or their nationalities.
The boat capsized east of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, and the 14 were rescued early on Friday, he added. It was unclear when they embarked on the perilous trip for Europe or from where they had set off.
Aid group Doctors Without Borders, or Médecins Sans Frontières, urged EU leaders Friday to “show some basic decency” by committing to search and rescue operations for those in trouble at sea — and then taking them to a place of safety, rather than Libya.
“EU member states are abdicating their responsibilities to save lives and deliberately condemning vulnerable people to be trapped in Libya, or die at sea,” said Karline Kleijer, head of emergencies for the aid group.
“They do this fully aware of the extreme violence and abuses that refugees and migrants suffer in Libya.”
