Refugees and Migrants to be returned back to Libya when found on sea: Credit #ANSAmed

On the eve of a parliamentary discussion on Tuesday, Amnesty International on Monday said that the Italian government plan to send warships to patrol Libyan territorial waters is a ''shameful attempt by the Italian authorities to circumvent their duty to rescue refugees and migrants at sea and to offer protection to those who need it''. ''Under the plan up to six vessels would be deployed to support the Libyan coastguard in the interception and return of refugees and migrants to Libya, where they would face horrific abuses and human rights violations. Italian military personnel are likely to be authorized to use force against smugglers and traffickers, and the plan could also result in refugees and migrants being caught in the crossfire,'' Amnesty reported.

''Rather than sending ships to help save lives and offer protection to desperate refugees and migrants, Italy is planning to deploy warships to push them back to Libya," said Amnesty International's Europe Director John Dalhuisen.

''This shameful strategy is not designed to end the spiralling death toll in the central Mediterranean but rather to keep refugees and migrants from Italian shores. Claims that the rights of those returned will be respected will ring hollow in the ears of those that have fled horrific abuse in Libyan detention centres." (ANSAmed).

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Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar of the Libyan National Army (LNA) threatens to attack Italian vessels in Libyan waters unlikely to materialise, but risks support mission

the Italian parliament approved legislation allowing Italian military vessels to patrol Libyan waters in order to stem the flow of migrants entering Italy. This is the latest in a series of initiatives and proposals by the Italian government to block the Mediterranean migrant route, including the recent introduction of a code of conduct curtailing the flexibility of aid groups and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to operate rescue vessels in the Mediterranean. In response to the latest measure to deploy the Italian navy, Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar of the Libyan National Army (LNA) – a militia associated with the Tobruk-based government in eastern Libya – warned that any non-commercial vessel entering Libyan waters without prior authorisation would be attacked.

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