Quelle: Reuters

ROME, Dec 3 (Reuters) – Rescuers pulled almost 2,000 migrants from 11 boats that were attempting to cross the Mediterranean and reach Italy, the Italian coastguard said on Thursday.

It was the largest number of migrants reported saved en route to Italy in more than a month.

The flow of migrants heading to Italy has slowed sharply in recent weeks, partly because of poor weather. Many come from sub-Saharan Africa and set sail from Libya in rickety boats provided by people smugglers.

More than 140,000 migrants have reached Italy this year out of a total of almost 900,000 who have arrived in Europe, most of them entering via Greece.

The Italian, British and Spanish navies took part in the 11 separate rescue operations on Thursday, as well as a ship operated by the non-governmental organisation Doctors Without Borders, the coastguards said.

(Reporting by Crispian Balmer; Editing by Alison Williams)

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siehe auch: The Local

Nearly 2,000 migrants rescued off Libya

UPDATED: Nearly 2,000 migrants have been rescued off the Libyan coast in 11 separate operations, the Italian navy said on Thursday, after a break in bad weather sparked fresh attempts at the perilous Mediterranean crossing.

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The migrants were plucked from their boats by the Italian coastguard, the navy, a Doctors Without Borders boat and two vessels operating under the EU’s Operation Sophia, which patrols the sea for people smugglers.

The rescue followed a lull in arrivals caused by bad weather, during which only around 400 migrants were picked up in over 10 days – a startlingly low number compared to the summer months, when an average of 760 people a day were rescued.

According to the United Nations, the number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean to Europe fell by more than a third last month, due also to a Turkish crackdown on traffickers in the Aegean on the route into Greece.

The International Organization for Migration estimated in late November that nearly 860,000 migrants had landed in Europe so far this year, with more than 3,500 dying while crossing the Mediterranean in search of safety.

On Tuesday, the UN’s children’s agency warned that women and children make up an increasing proportion of the migrants and refugees on the move, and currently account for more than half, up from just 27 percent a few months ago.