5-day-old twins among refugees saved off Libyan coast

Italian navy and NGOs pluck 6,500 from Mediterranean; migrant boats had just enough fuel to reach rescue ships

Five-day-old twin boys were among 6,500 refugees plucked from the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya on Tuesday by Italian naval ships and vessels from non-government groups.

The dramatic operation took place just 21 kilometers (13 miles) north of the Libyan town of Sabratha. Groups such as Proactiva Open Arms and Doctors Without Borders helped take on some 3,000 people who had been travelling in around 20 small wooden boats in a desperate attempt to flee to Europe, driven by war, poverty, and human traffickers.

In boats too weak and technically unequipped for a voyage across the stretch of the Mediterranean to the shores of Italy, the migrants had set off with a bit of gasoline in the overcrowded vessels, hoping to make it at least 15-20 miles out to sea and reach awaiting rescuers.

Tens of thousands of Africans take the dangerous Mediterranean Sea route as a gateway to a better life in Europe, alongside those fleeing wars from Syria to Afghanistan.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZD7Q5M0FUL4

Libya’s chaos and lack of border controls have made it into a transit route. Since the 2011 ouster and killing of longtime Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, the country has sunk into lawlessness, facing a myriad of militias vying for influence and an emerging Islamic State affiliate.

In June, the European Union expanded its anti-smuggling operation in the central Mediterranean to include training Libyan coastal and naval forces, which are intercepting boats and returning migrants to Libya, where some are being held in abusive conditions.

Rights groups and experts estimate that there are about 3,500 migrants held in roughly 20 official detention facilities across Libya. Others are held in informal detention centers controlled by criminal gangs or armed groups.

On Thursday, details emerged of a “shoot to kill” attack earlier this month against a refugee rescue boat operated by Doctors Without Borders off the coast of Libya.

The unidentified assailants shot at least 13 bullets at the boat’s bridge – the control area – and hit the bridge’s window “with an intention, we believe, to harm and potentially kill,” mission operations coordinator Stefano Argenziano told Britain’s the Guardian newspaper. No migrants were on the boat at the time.