IOM Appeals for Its Boat to Dock in Misrata to Carry out Urgent Life-Saving Evacuation Mission
IOM is urgently appealing to all parties involved in the conflict
in Libya to allow its chartered Red Star One boat to dock at
Misrata port in order to rescue about 1,000 stranded migrants and
many badly wounded civilians.
The IOM boat, which left Benghazi on 29 April, has been waiting
off-shore to dock since 30th April. Shelling of the city's port
area, together with the threat of mines laid in the approach to the
port has prevented IOM from docking so far.
As on previous occasions, a medical team will be on board the
ship comprising Libyan doctors and nurses as well as staff from the
International Medical Corps. Some of the team will stay behind in
Misrata to relieve colleagues in hospitals there.
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"">Libya Migration Crisis Website
Journalists in Misrata, also waiting to be evacuated, have told
IOM that another 36 people need to be urgently taken out of the
city with intensive care units now having run out of beds and
supplies.
A medical source has reported that in one intensive care unit,
two patients have no respirators and nurses spend their day making
them breathe manually.
According to the Libyan Red Crescent, over 1,000 migrants from
many countries including Niger, Ghana, Chad, Nigeria, Sudan, Mali,
Egypt and Bangladesh are waiting at the port to be rescued. Among
them are 71 women and children.
In addition, IOM has been made aware of 109 Filipinos in
Misrata, including women and children who also need to be evacuated
but the Organization has not been able to establish contact with
the group.
"Every second now counts. We need to get this boat into Misrata
port today because lives have been lost already while the boat has
been forced to wait offshore and many more could be lost. IOM is
appealing for its boat to be allowed to dock safely and for the
Organization to carry out its humanitarian operation," says IOM's
Director of Emergencies and Operations Mohammed Abdiker.
This is the 6th IOM mission to rescue stranded migrants and
wounded civilians from Misrata. So far 5,124 migrants and wounded
Libyans and their family members have been taken by IOM to
Benghazi. The Organization has also delivered more than 1,800 tons
of humanitarian aid to the city including food, non-food and
medical supplies. The IOM-chartered Red Star One is carrying a
further 180 tons of humanitarian supplies for delivery to
Misrata.
IOM's humanitarian evacuation programme out of Misrata is funded
by the European Commission's Humanitarian Aid and Civilian
Protection Office (ECHO), the US State Department's Bureau of
Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM), Britain's Department for
International Development (DFID), Germany, Ireland and
Australia.
For further information, please contact:
Jean Philippe Chauzy
IOM Geneva
Tel: + 41 22 717 9361
+ 41 79 285 4366
E-mail:
"mailto:pchauzy@iom.int">pchauzy@iom.int
Jemini Pandya
Tel: + 41 22 717 9486
+ 41 79 217 3374
E-mail:
"mailto:jpandya@iom.int">jpandya@iom.int
or
Jumbe Omari Jumbe
Tel: + 41 22 717 9405
+ 41 79 812 7734
E-mail:
"mailto:jjumbe@iom.int">jjumbe@iom.int