SOS Mediterranee, the migrant search and rescue operation in partnership with Doctors Without Borders, took two Syrian minors onto its rescue ship Aquarius as part of a group of 265 migrants it rescued in three separate operations.
There are two unaccompanied minors among the 265 migrants taken onboard the Aquarius ship run by Sos Mediterranee in partnership with Doctors Without Borders (MSF) the night of August 30. The operation was part of the Sos Mediterranee rescue mission in the Mediterranean. The minors said that they had left Syria on a plane to Tripoli prior to being taken to Sabratha and loaded onto the wooden vessel that was rescued by the Aquarius team along with 16 others from Syria, Egypt, Gambia, Morocco, northern Sudan and Tunisia.
'Unsustainable situation in Libya'
The rescue of the wooden boat they were traveling on is the last of three rescue operations conducted by the Aquarius in international waters off Libyan coasts in coordination with the Rome Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in the 48 hours between Tuesday and Wednesday of last week. The migrants spoke of an ''unsustainable situation in Libya''. ''Every day,'' one told the rescue workers, ''our friends die or are taken hostage by militias. Every militia is specialized in certain activities: kidnappings, blackmail, etc. We are fleeing war. And there is no money left in Libya since the government no longer prints any.'' The Aquarius is run by the NGO Sos Mediterranee, which signed the Italian government's 'Code of Conduct' for NGOs engaged in rescue operations at sea that dock at Italian ports. It works in collaboration with MSF, which refused to sign the 'Code of Conduct'.