By: LakshmiPS
Sixteen of 75 migrants saved in Mediterranean waters in late May but stranded off Tunisia’s coast for over two weeks have returned home, the UN migration agency said Friday.
The group flew to Bangladesh on Thursday, the International Organization for Migration said, while the return of others is expected to be organised in the coming days.
Sixty-four Bangladeshis, nine Egyptians, a Moroccan and a Sudanese citizen set out in late May from Libya in a bid to reach Italy, but their vessel sank and they were rescued by an Egyptian tugboat.
The Maridive 601, which services oil platforms, then set anchor off the southern port of Zarzis as Tunisian authorities refused to allow it to dock despite an appeal from the boat’s captain.
The migrants finally disembarked in Tunisia on Tuesday, after authorities agreed to let them onshore on condition that they be returned to their country of origin.
Once ashore, the migrants met IOM representatives tasked with helping them repatriate voluntarily, including through financial support.
But not all the migrants are willing to return home, according to the United Nations agency, with discussions over their fate ongoing.
Some “in the end refused to return, (and some) minors want to request asylum”, said Lorena Lando, the IOM’s head in Tunisia.
At least 32 children were among the 75 rescued by the Egyptian tugboat.
In a separate incident on May 10, around 60 people died when their boat sank off Tunisia.
Sixteen survivors, mostly from Bangladesh, were rescued by fishermen and two subsequently decided to return home.
Humanitarian boats and those of the European Union’s “Operation Sophia” anti-piracy force have saved most stranded migrants in recent years.
But rescue operations have dropped in recent months, due to a reduction in Sophia’s operational zone and steps taken against rescue NGOs by European states seeking to limit migration.
(AFP)
