proactiva

A ship transporting almost 200 tons of food to Gaza left a port in Cyprus early on Tuesday in a pilot project to open a new sea route for aid to a population on the brink of famine.

The charity ship Open Arms sailed out of Larnaca port in Cyprus, towing a barge containing flour, rice and protein.

MADRID (Reuters) - A humanitarian rescue boat carrying 60 migrants rescued off Libya docked in Barcelona on Wednesday after being turned away by Malta and Italy, in the latest example of European divisions on immigration.

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.

The Italian government yesterday (13 August) welcomed Libya’s decision to bar foreign vessels from a stretch of water off its coast,a move that has prompted almost all international charities to halt migrant search and rescue operations in the area.

The Italian Coast Guard and humanitarian ships rescued 1,350 migrants in 12 separate operations in the Mediterranean on April 6 and one person was found dead.

Eleven migrants drowned on March 24 after a boat carrying 22 sank off the Kuşadası-Davutlar area of the Aegean province of Aydın, Doğan News Agency has reported. 

Eight migrants were rescued while efforts to rescue the other missing three were continuing.

A number of ambulances were also dispatched to the coast.