Libyan Authorities Rescue 360 Sub-Saharan Migrants Abandoned by Tunisian Police
A human rights group has urged international aid for a group of 360 sub-Saharan migrants who were rescued by Libyan authorities after being abandoned by Tunisian police on the border between the two countries.
The Arab Organization for Human Rights (AOHR) said the migrants, who include women and children, urgently need humanitarian and medical aid.
The call came after Libyan border guards rescued the migrants who had been left without food, water, or shelter in the desert near the border with Tunisia.
The migrants were found in an uninhabited area around 15 kilometers inside Libyan territory, according to an AFP team that witnessed the event.
The incident occurred after hundreds of migrants from sub-Saharan African countries were forcibly taken to desert areas bordering Libya and Algeria following racial unrest in early July in Sfax, Tunisia's second-largest city.
The trouble flared after the July 3 killing of a Tunisian man in an altercation between locals and migrants.
The Tunisian Red Crescent has provided shelter to at least 630 migrants who were taken to the militarized border zone of Ras Jedir, north of Al-Assah, on the Mediterranean coast after the incident.
The Libyan interior ministry said it had documented the expulsions by the Tunisian authorities and posted a video on Facebook showing the migrants telling their stories.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Libya has already provided emergency humanitarian assistance to the migrants rescued at the border with Tunisia.
However, Amnesty International's Eve Geddie criticized the recent agreement between Tunisia and the European Union for a "strategic and comprehensive partnership" that includes financial assistance of 10 million euros to help deal with irregular migration.
Geddie called the agreement "ill-judged" and said it would result in a dangerous expansion of already failed migration policies.
The AOHR has urged the EU to take responsibility for the suffering that will result from the agreement and for the human rights abuses by Tunisia's president and government.
The organization called on the EU to put pressure on Tunisia to respect human rights and refuge
The call came after Libyan border guards rescued the migrants who had been left without food, water, or shelter in the desert near the border with Tunisia.
The migrants were found in an uninhabited area around 15 kilometers inside Libyan territory, according to an AFP team that witnessed the event.
The incident occurred after hundreds of migrants from sub-Saharan African countries were forcibly taken to desert areas bordering Libya and Algeria following racial unrest in early July in Sfax, Tunisia's second-largest city.
The trouble flared after the July 3 killing of a Tunisian man in an altercation between locals and migrants.
The Tunisian Red Crescent has provided shelter to at least 630 migrants who were taken to the militarized border zone of Ras Jedir, north of Al-Assah, on the Mediterranean coast after the incident.
The Libyan interior ministry said it had documented the expulsions by the Tunisian authorities and posted a video on Facebook showing the migrants telling their stories.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Libya has already provided emergency humanitarian assistance to the migrants rescued at the border with Tunisia.
However, Amnesty International's Eve Geddie criticized the recent agreement between Tunisia and the European Union for a "strategic and comprehensive partnership" that includes financial assistance of 10 million euros to help deal with irregular migration.
Geddie called the agreement "ill-judged" and said it would result in a dangerous expansion of already failed migration policies.
The AOHR has urged the EU to take responsibility for the suffering that will result from the agreement and for the human rights abuses by Tunisia's president and government.
The organization called on the EU to put pressure on Tunisia to respect human rights and refuge
