TRIPOLI — Authorities in eastern Libya have announced a ban on the entry of citizens from Sudan, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia, in a move widely seen as an attempt to curb the growing flow of migrants using the country’s Mediterranean coast as a gateway to Europe.
The announcement issued on Tuesday night states that nationals of the four countries will not be permitted to enter Libya through any land, sea or air checkpoints. However, exemptions will apply to diplomats as well as professionals working in sectors such as healthcare and education.
The ban comes as more bodies of migrants washed ashore off a city in eastern Libya in recent days after their boat capsized last week, bringing the total recovered to 26 with dozens more feared lost at sea, medical and security sources said on Tuesday.
Last week, 15 bodies of migrants including a girl were recovered from several places along the coastline of Tobruk, a city near the Egyptian border. Ten survivors were rescued, who said the vessel was carrying about 61 people, a navy source said.
The sources said the further 11 people had been found since Sunday when the body of a woman was recovered.
Libya has become a transit route for migrants, many of them from sub-Saharan Africa, risking their lives to flee to Europe across desert and sea in the hope of escaping conflict and poverty.
The Coast Guard in Tobruk posted pictures showing members of its search and rescue department along with Red Crescent volunteers recovering bodies and wrapping them in white cloth before placing them at the back of vehicles.
A medical source said the bodies were all decomposed, while another medical source added that “all the bodies are buried on the same day or the day after the recovery due to bad odors and the disappearance of the bodies’ features.”
“In anticipation of more bodies washing ashore, the security patrols are continuing to be carried out along the shores of Tobruk city,” a security source said.
Source: Saudi Gazette