Armed men in speedboats abducted women and children from a sinking migrant dinghy in the Mediterranean Sea, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) reported Friday.
The rubber dinghy, carrying 112 migrants, began deflating off Libya’s coast, prompting panic among those aboard. Dozens of men and boys jumped into the sea, where MSF’s rescue vessel, Geo Barents, intervened to save 83 individuals, including 70 from the water.
Nearby, two speedboats identified themselves as Libyan Coast Guard vessels. Witnesses said armed men fired shots and took 24 women and four children aboard one speedboat, promising to hand them over after the men were rescued. Instead, they sped away, leaving their fate unknown.
“The situation was horrifying,” MSF psychologist Maria Eliana Tunno said in a video statement, recounting the terror of families being separated at gunpoint.
Among the rescued were migrants from Eritrea, Yemen, and Ethiopia. Survivors described enduring abuse and inhumane conditions in Libya before this harrowing ordeal.
One man jumped into the sea, desperate to reach his wife and two children, including a 4-month-old baby. Tunno described the rescued men as “exhausted, desperate, and in shock.”
Libya, a common departure point for migrants, has been deemed unsafe by international organizations. MSF called on authorities to locate and reunite the separated families, emphasizing the life-threatening conditions migrants face in the region.
So far in 2024, over 62,000 migrants have arrived in Italy by sea, a significant decline from 152,000 during the same period in 2023. However, the journey remains deadly, with 2,124 recorded deaths on the Central Mediterranean route this year, according to the United Nations.
The incident underscores ongoing challenges in addressing migration through the Mediterranean, despite efforts by European nations to stem departures and manage arrivals.
