Libyans 'Threatened' Med migrant Aid Boat

A Spanish migrant aid group is deciding whether to continue its Mediterranean rescue mission after it said its boat was targeted by Libya's coastguard, reported BBC.

Proactiva Open Arms, one of three groups still operating off Libya, said its boat was in international waters when it was told to head to port in Libya or come under fire.

Libyan officials did not confirm the incident.

However, the navy last week told NGOs to stay away from the Libyan coast.

Since the EU struck a deal last year with Turkey to seal off the migrant route into Greece, the Libyan route to Italy has become a focal point for migrants and people smugglers. Some 97,000 migrants have reached Italy so far this year.

Libya extended its own search-and-rescue area into international waters last week and a senior naval official accused the aid groups of pretending to rescue migrants trying to make their way across the Mediterranean to Europe.

Tighter restrictions, as well as poor weather, appear to be having an effect on migrant numbers crossing the Mediterranean in recent weeks. Only 2,080 migrants have reached Italy this month, according to UN figures up to 13th August.

Responding to Tuesday's incident, a Libyan navy spokesman told the BBC that organisations that failed to comply with the parameters of the search-and-rescue zone were responsible for their own actions.

Three NGOs, including Save the Children and MSF, have already left the area, saying that threats from the Libyan authorities meant they could not guarantee their safety. Two other groups, SOS Méditerranée and Moas, are still operating in the area as well as the Spanish NGO.

As the Proactiva ship Golfo Azzurro sailed an estimated 24 nautical miles off Libya, a man identified as a...