MSF suspends migrant rescues in Med

Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) said on Saturday it was suspending its migrant rescues in the Mediterranean because it felt threatened by the Libyan coastguard and the Italian government’s policies have made its job harder.

The decision by the aid group (also known as Doctors Without Borders) is the latest development in mounting tensions between Rome and NGOs as migration dominates Italy’s agenda ahead of elections next year.

“We are suspending our activities because now we feel that the threatening behaviour by the Libyan coastguard is very serious ... we cannot put our colleagues in danger,” the president of MSF’s Italian arm Loris De Filippi said.

Almost 600,000 migrants have arrived in Italy over the past four years, the vast majority setting sail from lawless Libya. More than 13,000 migrants have died trying to make the crossing.