Migrants, rescue vessels face ordeals at sea: Aid group

Migrants crossing the Mediterranean and rescue ships that help them face increasing levels of threats and harassment from Libyan groups, said a leading aid group on Monday.

The SOS Mediterranee — a European maritime and humanitarian organisation for the rescue of life in the central Mediterranean and also part of a network of ships and planes that monitor these waters — said that thousands of people have died crossing from Africa to Europe.

The group said the central Mediterranean has become 'increasingly hostile', bolstered by 'the expansion of European cooperation with Libyan actors regarding migration deterrence'.

Hundreds of people, crammed in a small boat, risk their lives in order to cross the Mediterranean in a desperate bid to become migrant workers in different European countries. Photo: AFP 

On at least seven occasions in June and July, boats 'linked to Libyan actors' had approached rescue vessels 'at high speed' or trailed them for hours, engaging in 'chases' into international waters, said SOS Mediterranee, adding that there had also been a 'significant increase in the presence of unidentified speedboats linked to different armed groups in Libya'.

"These vessels were observed carrying out violent interceptions, notably by deliberately ramming boats carrying people in distress and performing manoeuvres that endangered lives," SOS Mediterranee added.

The group last year accused the Libyan coast guard of attacking its Ocean Viking rescue ship in international waters. It said more than 100 shots had been fired, putting the Ocean Viking's crew and 87 rescued migrants at risk.

Rescue workers recover the body of a migrant aspirant who died drowning after the boat carrying him sunk in the Mediterranean. Photo: AP  

Calling for 'a full and independent investigation', the humanitarian organisation said although the European and national authorities have remained silent and those responsible for the attack have not been identified, legal proceedings had been started in Italy, France and Germany over the case.

The number of deaths in the central Mediterranean has increased, while the number of migrants attempting the dangerous crossing has fallen because of tougher European policies, according to the United Nations' International Organization for Migration (IOM).

The IOM said this month that 821 people died or were reported missing in the first four months of the year, a 111 percent increase compared to the corresponding period in 2025. 

Migrant arrivals over the same period fell by 46 percent to 8,577, it added.