Thousands Rescued in the Mediterranean at Weekend
At least 8,500 migrants were rescued in the central Mediterranean in 73 operations over the weekend, according to Italian coast guard reports.
Frontex, the European border and coast guard agency, said that it conducted 13 search and rescue operations, with 1,400 migrants rescued between Friday and Sunday.
Thirteen dead bodies were found on the ships, including a pregnant woman and a child. The rescued migrants were taken to southern Italy, where they can start the asylum process.
The Spanish coast guard rescued another 125 migrants, who were trying to reach Europe via the western Mediterranean route over the same period, according to the Associated Press.
Clashes Break out Between Asylum Seekers and Locals on Manus Island
Members of the Papua New Guinea Defense Force fired several shots after a fight broke out between a local man and an asylum seeker at Manus detention center, ABC reported.
Local residents stormed the detention center and at least one person was injured in the incident, which reportedly started after locals harassed asylum seekers playing football in the navy base that surrounds the center.
Behrouz Boochani, an Iranian-born journalist and detainee on Manus Island, told Guardian Australia that three asylum seekers – two from Sudan and one from Pakistan – and Australian staff members suffered serious injuries.
Activists and human rights groups have repeatedly called upon the Australian authorities to shut down its offshore detention centers.
Amnesty International said a “prompt and independent investigation” is needed.
“Those trapped on Manus Island and on Nauru must be brought to Australia, or a third country where their rights and safety can be assured,” Amnesty’s director of research Anna Neistat said in a statement.
At Least 28,000 South Sudanese Refugees Fled to Sudan in March
More than 28,000 South Sudanese refugees fled to Sudan in March, according to the U.N. refugee agency’s latest update on its South Sudanese refugee response.
Exceeding initial estimates, more than 85,000 refugees have entered Sudan since the start of 2017. The UNHCR now estimates that 180,000 South Sudanese will arrive by the end of the year.
Uganda has been receiving around 2,800 South Sudanese refugees per day.
Uganda has progressive refugee policies, including freedom of movement and legal work permits for refugees, but it is reaching “breaking point,” according to the UNHCR and activists.
Meanwhile, the UNHCR has received less than 10 percent of the $166 million it requested from the international donor community.
About 1.5 million South Sudanese refugees have fled chronic conflict in their country since December 2013, with most reaching neighboring countries.
Recommended Reads
- The New York Times: The Refugee King of Greece
- Al Jazeera: One Day in Calais: The Refugees Hiding in the Forest
- The Guardian: Berliners Get an Appetite for Refugees’ Cuisine
- INEE: Secondary School for Displaced Kids Shouldn’t Be an Afterthought
- Deutsche Welle: On the Kenya-Sudan Border, Refugees and Locals Vie for Limited Resources