Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has warned that Italy’s decision to close its ports to humanitarian rescue boats would entrap more refugees in Libya’s detention centers and in the hands of traffickers, where they face torture.

Christophe Biteau, the head of Doctors Without Borders mission in Libya, said everyone intercepted by the Libyan coast guard, around 10,789 people this year, has been held indefinitely in government-run detention centers.

“With fewer rescue ships and the summer surge in departures, the situation in the centers will get worse and worse,” he added.

Italy’s new far-right Interior Minister Matteo Salvini has taken a tough stance on refugees since taking office on June 1. The new coalition government in Italy has been cracking down on humanitarian groups that rescue refugees in the Mediterranean Sea and then ferry the asylum seekers to the country’s ports.

Late last month, Salvini declared that the country’s ports would be closed “all summer” to charity ships which rescue refugees trying to cross the Mediterranean from Africa to the European Union.

The aid group further said that between 5,000 and 7,000 people are held in seven official centers in the capital Tripoli, which it described as overcrowded and unsanitary, with scabies and tuberculosis common.

There are 17 government detention facilities across Libya, amid reports of physical assaults and inhumane conditions in the centers.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) says nearly 700,000 refugees are estimated to be in Libya. MSF said it is not clear how many refugees are held in secret camps run by human traffickers.

“Our perception about people coming from Libya is that the violence is widespread,” said Gianfranco De Maio, MSF’s global supervisor for its treatment of torture victims.

“All of the migrants being brought back end up in detention centers and the recent increase in the number of people being intercepted is putting increasing pressure on the already overcrowded facilities,” Roberto Mignone, the UN refugee agency’s representative to Libya, said on Friday.

Source: Presstv

The International Criminal Court revealed Thursday it has issued a second arrest warrant for a Libyan military commander accused of shooting dead 10 Takfiri prisoners after a Benghazi mosque attack.

The new warrant for Mahmoud Mustafa Busayf al-Werfalli, issued Wednesday, cites “his alleged responsibility for murder as a war crime” in the Libyan conflict, the ICC said in a statement.

Despite an earlier warrant issued in August, Werfalli, a commander of the Benghazi-based al-Saiqa Brigade loyal to Libyan strongman Khalifa Haftar, has remained at large.

Now ICC judges have found “reasonable grounds to believe” that Werfalli “allegedly shot dead 10 persons in front of the Bi’at al-Radwan Mosque in Benghazi” on January 24.

Almost 40 people were killed and scores injured in twin car bombings outside the mosque after evening prayers frequented by Takfiri opponents in Libya’s second city.

The first warrant accused Werfalli of the cold-blooded executions of at least 33 civilians or injured fighters in seven incidents in 2016 and 2017.

The ICC judges referred to video footage allegedly showing Werfalli personally shooting hooded and bound prisoners, or ordering a firing squad to open fire on them.

In February, Werfalli said in an unconfirmed Facebook video post that he had handed himself in to Haftar, insisting on his innocence, and justifying any executions as “sentences” against Takfiri killers.

Libya fell into chaos after the ouster of strongman Muammar Gaddafi in October 2011, with competing authorities in Tripoli and the east vying for power.

Haftar supports an administration based in the east, while the UN-backed unity government based in the capital Tripoli has struggled to assert its authority outside of the west of the country.

ICC chief prosecutor Fatou Bensouda has repeatedly called for help in arresting Werfalli, as well as Gaddafi’s son, Saif al-Islam, who is also wanted on charges of war crimes.

A warrant has also been issued for the arrest of former security chief Al-Tuhamy Mohamed Khaled, accused of war crimes committed in 2011.

(Source: AFP)

A giant blimp depicting Donald Trump as a baby will fly over London during the US president’s visit next week after mayor Sadiq Khan approved the request, protesters behind the stunt said Thursday.

The 6-meter (19-foot) orange balloon, which shows the president wearing a nappy, will fly near parliament at a height of 30 meters between 9:30 am and 11:30 am local time.

“The mayor supports the right to peaceful protest and understands that this can take many different forms,” said a spokesperson for Khan, who has had frequent Twitter spats with the US leader.

Activist Leo Murray from the group behind the protest credited a “huge groundswell of support” for Khan’s decision, with more than 10,000 signing an online petition.

“We didn’t get off to the best start with the mayor’s office over this, who originally told us that they didn’t recognise ‘Trump Baby’ as legitimate protest,” he told Sky News.

“But following a huge groundswell of public support for our plan, it looks like City Hall has rediscovered its sense of humour. Trump Baby will fly!”

Huge protests are expected when Trump visits Britain next week, where he will meet Prime Minister Theresa May and Queen Elizabeth II.

(Source: AFP)