Washington Post | 15.08.2017

A Doctors Without Borders official says forcing migrants at sea to return to Libya violates international law.

The nonprofit group’s Italy director, Gabriele Eminente, said Monday that the north African nation is unsafe for migrants. Eminente alleged they are at risk for malnutrition and mistreatment in detention camps.

Doctors Without Borders is one of several humanitarian organizations that have suspended their work rescuing migrants in the Mediterranean Sea due to what they describe as threats from the Libyan coast guard.

Eminente says Libya is “not a safe port” for African migrants who went there seeking transport to Europe. He says “violence and torture is extremely common” in overcrowded detention camps.

Italy has sent a naval mission to help Libya’s coast guard with patrols, hoping to reduce the number of migrants brought to Italian ports.