Ship heads to Tripoli to evacuate migrants—agency

GENEVA—The International Organization for Migration said Monday that it had dispatched a ship to the Libyan capital Tripoli to evacuate migrants.

The IOM said the ship with a capacity to carry 300 people had left the eastern city of Benghazi earlier Monday.

“The boat, the Tasucu, is due to arrive in Tripoli on Tuesday and will leave for Benghazi as soon as IOM is able to successfully board the migrants,” said the inter-governmental agency.

Meanwhile, the UN’s refugee agency said on Monday that thousands of third-country nationals were “trapped in Tripoli” and appealed to all sides of the conflict to protect them from harm.

“We have seen at earlier stages in this crisis that such people, Africans especially, can be particularly vulnerable to hostility or acts of vengeance,” UN High Commissioner for Refugess Antonio Guterres said in a statement.

“It is crucial that humanitarian law prevails through these climactic moments and that foreigners – including refugees and migrant workers – are being fully and properly protected from harm,” he said.

For its part, the IOM said more than 5,000 Bangladeshis, Filipinos and Egyptians had asked the migration agency for help to leave the capital.

But with rebels pushing into Tripoli, the IOM said “it is unclear how many foreign nationals working in the country would still wish to leave,” adding that it would carry out further evacuations by sea if necessary.

The agency also urged both parties of the conflict to allow those seeking evacuation to make their way safely to the port.

Those evacuated to Benghazi would first be taken by road to the Egyptian border at Salloum before they get help to return to their home countries, said the IOM.

“The situation is extremely fluid, not only in terms of how many people may have changed their minds about leaving, but also in terms of changing counterparts on the ground,” said Pasquale Lupoli, who is the IOM’s regional director in the Middle East.

“We hope the IOM boat will be able to dock on Tuesday on time and that the Organization will be able to safely carry out its mission,” added Lupoli.