An IOM-chartered ship with a capacity to carry 1,000 passengers has
left Brindisi in southern Italy to evacuate thousands of stranded
migrant workers from the Libyan port of Misrata.

The ship will arrive in Benghazi, Libya later today, April 12th,
to load humanitarian aid donated by aid agencies and local people,
including blankets, food, water and medical supplies, before
sailing on to Misrata, which is located 130 kms west of the
capital, Tripoli.

Thousands of migrant workers are thought to be stranded by
fighting between the government and rebel forces in the city, which
is Libya's third largest and has been effectively under siege for
the past month and a half.

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IOM has chartered the vessel to make two rotations between
Benghazi and Misrata – a distance of 500 kms – but
hopes to eventually evacuate 7,000 to 8,000 migrants, subject to
available funding.

The evacuation of migrant workers by sea follows two earlier IOM
evacuations from Benghazi to the Egyptian port of Alexandria, but
is the first time that a ship has been sent to Misrata.

Aid workers believe that there may be thousands of people
trapped in the city, unable to leave their homes or communicate
with the outside world, but in urgent need of humanitarian
assistance.

"Many people may come out of hiding when they hear about the
arrival of the ship. We are therefore making contingency plans for
more evacuations," says IOM Director for the Middle East and North
Africa Pasquale Lupoli.

Migrant workers evacuated from Misrata port will be taken to
Benghazi port, where they will be put on buses to Sallum at the
Egyptian border. Upon their arrival in Sallum, IOM will assist
non-Egyptians with their onward return to their home countries, as
part of its ongoing evacuation operation.

For more information please contact:

Mathieu Luciano

IOM Cairo

E-mail: "mailto:mluciano@iom.int">mluciano@iom.int

Tel: +202 2358 0011 

       +202 2380 8746