Ship heads for Tripoli to rescue stranded migrants — agency

A ship chartered by the International Organization for Migration is now on its way to Tripoli in Libya for an initial evacuation of some 5,000 migrants stranded there. The IOM said its chartered ship, which has a capacity of 300 people, left the eastern city of Benghazi in Libya Monday morning. “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," it said in a statement. It added the ship had just completed mission late Sunday to evacuate 124 migrants from Misrata. Aboard the vessel are several IOM operational and medical staff, the IOM said. Once this is completed, the IOM said it plans to take rescued migrants to the Egyptian border at Salloum by road before helping them return to their home countries. “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," the IOM noted. The IOM called on the parties in the fighting to allow migrants scattered around Tripoli to safely make their way to the port for evacuation. The IOM added it will evacuate more stranded migrants by sea if there is a humanitarian need. Rapidly evolving situation But the IOM admitted a rapidly evolving situation in the Libyan capital makes it unclear how many foreign nationals would still wish to leave. The IOM said it has 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 counterparts on the ground," said 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," Lupoli added. 400 tickets On Monday, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) said the IOM has “reserved" at least 400 seats for Filipino workers in strife-torn Libya who want to be repatriated to the Philippines. In a statement, the DFA said this was the result of coordination between Philippine Ambassador to Libya Alejandrino Vicente and DFA Undersecretary Rafael Seguis. “As a result of the said coordination, the IOM has entrusted the Embassy 400 passenger seats on a chartered ship for Filipinos," the DFA said. http://dfa.gov.ph/main/index.php/newsroom/dfa-releases/3618-statement-of-the-department-of-foreign-affairs-on-the-situation-in-libya So far, the DFA said 86 Filipinos have signified their intention to leave Libya. It said there are some 1,600 Filipinos who are still in Tripoli and its neighboring suburbs. DFA Secretary Albert del Rosario earlier ordered Seguis to proceed to Tripoli last Aug. 12 to convince the remaining Filipinos there to avail of repatriation. — JE, GMA News