Group of 19 Found Dead in Libyan Desert
The bodies of 19 people were discovered in Libya’s eastern desert after apparently being smuggled from Egypt on foot and dying from the heat and hunger.
Seven of them were carrying Egyptian identity papers, while the nationalities of the remainder were being verified, Red Crescent officials said.
Egyptians have taken smuggler boats from Libya seeking security in Europe, as well as from Egypt’s own northern coast.
France Evicts Paris Migrant Camp
Police evicted hundreds of migrants sleeping rough in a Paris neighborhood after their makeshift settlement swelled in numbers in recent weeks.
Around 350 police and 100 other officials evacuated between 1,500 and 2,500 people who were camping in Porte de la Chapelle in northern Paris at dawn on July 7. A local official said around 100 people were arriving in the area every day, many from East Africa and the Middle East.
The men and a few families being evicted were transferred to temporary shelters around the region by bus.
Paris officials say that the informal camps – which repeatedly crop up in Paris and northern France – are a security and health risk. But the lack of space in official shelters, and the slow pace and uncertain outcome of asylum claims, means many people seek shelter wherever they can or try to travel north to cross into the U.K.
U.N. Refugee Chief: Myanmar Must Give Rohingya Citizenship
The U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees urged Myanmar to give citizenship to the stateless Rohingya minority after visiting Rakhine state.
“It’s important to work on granting citizenship to the Muslim community, that has been deprived of citizenship for many years,” Filippo Grandi told reporters. “It is one of the poorest states in the Union of Myanmar and there’s an urgent need for development investments that must be inclusive of the two communities.”
A military crackdown following an insurgent attack in Rakhine last October forced more than 75,000 Rohingya to flee to neighboring Bangladesh, which already hosts hundreds of thousands of Rohingya refugees.
Tensions rose again last week after Buddhists attacked Rohingya Muslims in Rakhine, killing one, and Myanmar troops killed three people while clearing a camp, Reuters reported.
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