The IOM chartered boat, which has a capacity to carry 300 people, left the eastern city of Benghazi Monday morning after completing a mission late Sunday to evacuate 124 migrants from Misrata.
The boat, the Tasucu, is due to arrive in Tripoli on Tuesday and will leave for Benghazi as soon as IOM is able to successfully board the migrants.
From there, IOM will use an on-going operation to take rescued migrants to the Egyptian border at Salloum by road before assisting them to return to their home countries.
On board are several IOM operational and medical staff.
However, with a rapidly evolving situation in the Libyan capital, it is unclear how many foreign nationals working in the country would still wish to leave. More than 5,000 Bangladeshis, Filipinos and Egyptians alone have registered their desire to leave. Many more, including Sub-Saharan Africans who live on the outskirts of Tripoli and who have not been able to reach their embassies, might also require assistance.
IOM had been made aware of many thousands of migrants of several nationalities wanting to leave Tripoli but who had been unable to do so as fighting on the western front had cut off the road route to the Tunisian border.
“The situation is extremely fluid, not only in terms of how many people may have changed their minds about leaving, but also in terms of changing counter-parts on the ground,” says Pasquale Lupoli, IOM Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa. “We hope the IOM boat will be able to dock on Tuesday on time and that the Organization will be able to safely carry out its mission.”
With migrants scattered arund Tripoli and fighting still reported in some parts of the city, IOM is calling for both parties to ensure migrants are allowed to safely make their way to the port for evacuation.
IOM will evacuate more stranded migrants by sea if there is a humanitarian need.
For further information, please contact in Geneva, Jean Philippe Chauzy, Tel: + 41 22 717 9361/+41 79 285 4366, Email: jchauzy@iom.int or Jemini Pandya, IOM Geneva, Tel: + 41 22 717 9486/+ 41 79 217 3374 Email: jpandya@iom.int or Jumbe Omari Jumbe Tel: + 41 22 717 9405/+ 41 79 812 7734 Email: jjumbe@iom.int
