| Ship diverted by rescued refugees and migrants escorted to Malta. A Turkish cargo ship diverted off course by the refugees and migrants it rescued off the coast of Libya was boarded by soldiers from Malta’s armed forces early this morning and escorted to a Maltese port. After docking in Valetta, Maltese police reportedly arrested four men. The remainder of the 108 refugees and migrants on board were disembarked and put on buses. The refugees and migrants reportedly took control of the cargo ship on Wednesday when it became clear that it was planning to return them to Libya. Refugees and migrants face trafficking, kidnap, rape and torture in Libya, according to the UN and aid groups. Rights groups criticized the EU’s decision on Wednesday to withdraw maritime patrols from its Mediterranean naval mission, Operation Sophia. The human rights commissioner for the Council of Europe called on the EU to address the “ ever-increasing gap” in search and rescue capacity. | |
| “Breaking point has arrived” claims US border chief. The United States’ top border official told a news conference in El Paso, Texas on Wednesday that the immigration system along the nation’s southern border was at “breaking point ” as asylum-seeking Central American families continue to arrive in increasing numbers. Kevin McAleenan, the commissioner of US Customs and Border Protection, said that March is on track to have the highest number of border crossings in over a decade with more than 4,000 people crossing the border on each of two days this week. The majority are Central American families with children who turn themselves in to border agents to seek asylum. McAleenan said overcrowding at detention centres meant that his agency had begun “reluctantly” releasing families with a notice to appear in court rather than handing them over to US Immigration Customs Enforcement. | | |
| ‘Alarming spike’ in casualties and displacement in Syria’s Idlib. Intensified air strikes, shelling and attacks involving improvised explosive devices have killed 90 people in the last month in Syria’s opposition-held Idlib province, according to Ramesh Rajasingham, a senior director at the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. In a briefing to the UN Security Council on Wednesday, Rajasingham said the upsurge in violence had displaced at least 86,000 people and that the situation was of “grave concern”. Amnesty International said today it had verified six attacks on densely populated areas in Idlib. The attacks had hit a hospital, a blood bank and other medical facilities as well as a bakery and a school. | | |
| Venezuelan women wade across rivers to reach medical care in Colombia. The Independent reports that last month’s closure of the Simon Bolivar bridge, a major pedestrian crossing between Venezuela and Colombia, is forcing thousands of Venezuelans to make a difficult choice between going without the food and medical care available across the border or using one of more than 200 illegal crossing points known as “trochas”. Pregnant women in need of medical services are particularly vulnerable as they negotiate crossing points controlled by criminal groups, according to the International Rescue Committee. Some cannot afford the fees charged to use the “trochas” and are unaware of a so-called humanitarian corridor opened on 11 March to allow pregnant women, the elderly and school children to cross safely. | | |
| At least 170 civilians killed amid intensifying violence in Cameroon, says rights group. In a report published today, Human Rights Watch said government forces and armed separatist groups in Cameroon’s Anglophone North-West and South-West regions have carried out attacks that have left at least 170 civilians dead since last October. Security forces have allegedly used indiscriminate force , killing civilians and destroying and looting property. Meanwhile, separatists have assaulted government workers, teachers and students and kidnapped dozens of people. More than 437,000 people have been displaced by the violence in Cameroon, according to UNHCR, which warned this week that more funding is urgently needed to assist people forced from their homes. | | |
| Syrian refugee Ahmad Abed made his dreams of opening a clothing shop in Canada a reality, with some help from the Canadian businessman who sponsored him and his family to resettle in the country. Jim Estill, who has sponsored 87 refugee families to come to Canada, helped Ahmad negotiate a flexible lease at a mall where Ahmad and his family now run a successful shop selling socks and other clothing. | | |
Roughly 163,000 family members were apprehended at the US-Mexico border in 2018 – more than three times as many as in 2017.
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