MILAN — A humanitarian organization reported that armed individuals in two speedboats abducted women and children from a rubber dinghy carrying approximately 112 migrants who were attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea as it began to deflate off the coast of Libya. On Friday, it was revealed that the overcrowded vessel prompted many men and boys onboard to leap into the water in a desperate bid for safety, according to Doctors Without Borders. Their ship, the Geo Barents, reached the scene in international waters on Thursday, managing to rescue 83 men and unaccompanied minors, with 70 of them being retrieved directly from the sea.
Nearby, two speedboats that claimed to be part of the Libyan Coast Guard were present during the incident. Survivors indicated that fired shots were made by some of the armed men, although no casualties were reported. One of the boats took on board 24 women and four children, assuring the Geo Barents crew they would return them after the men had been rescued. However, they ultimately fled the scene. The current status of these women and children remains unknown, along with the identity of the armed groups responsible for their abduction.
The individuals rescued hailed from Eritrea, Yemen, and Ethiopia. Doctors Without Borders, which operates under the French acronym MSF, urged regional authorities and organizations to assist in reuniting families, emphasizing the dangers present in Libya. MSF criticized the incident as intolerable, highlighting the risk it posed to countless lives and the disruption to entire families.
Maria Eliana Tunno, a psychologist aboard the Geo Barents, described the harrowing situation in a video message, stating, “Many people were on an overcrowded rubber dinghy that was deflating, and they were threatened by armed men who fired shots. They lived the horror of being separated from their wives and daughters, who were taken away.” One man even jumped into the sea in an attempt to reach his wife and two young children—an infant aged 4 months and a 10-year-old.
Tunno characterized the rescued men and boys as “very tired, desperate, and in shock,” noting that many had suffered severe abuse and mistreatment while in Libya. As of now, more than 62,000 migrants have made their way to Italy via sea this year, as indicated by statistics from the Interior Ministry. This is a notable decrease compared to over 152,000 arrivals during the same timeframe in 2023.
According to the United Nations, 2,124 migrants have died attempting the perilous journey across the Central Mediterranean this year. The Italian government, now under the leadership of far-right Premier Giorgia Meloni, has implemented strategies aimed at curtailing migration to Italy, which includes establishing multi-million euro agreements with Tunisia and Egypt to deter departures and constructing screening centers in Albania to process migrants outside Europe’s borders.