A leading group monitoring and providing aid to migrants crossing the Mediterranean have warned that its rescue ships have been facing increasing threats and harassment from Libyan groups.
SOS Mediterranée, which plays a leading role in a network of ships and planes that monitor migrants crossing from Africa to Europe said Monday that the central Mediterranean was becoming "increasingly hostile" to its mission.
The situation was created in part by "the expansion of European cooperation with Libyan actors regarding migration deterrence", it said in a statement, marking a year after it said the Libyan coast guard attacked its Ocean Viking rescue ship in international waters.
'Deliberately' targeting rescue ships
The group reported on at least seven occasions in June and July when boats "linked to Libyan actors" had approached rescue vessels "at high speed" or trailed them for hours, engaging in "chases" into international waters.
There had also been a "significant increase in the presence of unidentified speed boats linked to different armed groups in Libya", which were seen violently intercepting migrant boats, deliberately ramming them and "and performing manoeuvres that endangered lives".
The group also said that while it opened legal proceedings over the Ocean Viking attack in France, Italy, and Germany, "European and national authorities have remained silent" and "those responsible for the attack have not been identified".
SOS Mediterranée called for "a full and independent investigation".
Migrant deaths on the rise
The United Nations' International Organization for Migration (IOM) said this month that the number of deaths in the central Mediterranean had increased, while the number of migrants attempting the dangerous crossing had fallen because of tougher European policies.
The IOM said that while migrant arrivals in Europe in the first four months of 2026 fell 46 percent compared to the same period the year before, 821 people died or were reported missing, a 111-percent increase.
In the latest incident, anger over the rescue attempts of a boat carrying 15 people that sank off the southeastern coast of Tunisia sparked protests Sunday.
The Tunisian National Guard said it had recovered 12 bodies and rescued one person. Two people were still missing.
All were from the Ben Guerdane area, seven of them members of the same family. Young people from the town protested to demand the search operations be accelerated.
(with newswires)
