- Sputnik International
World
Get the latest news from around the world, live coverage, off-beat stories, features and analysis.

MSF Denies Accusation of Migrants' Smuggling Into Europe

© AP Photo / Matthias SchraderGerman Navy sailors surround a boat with more than 100 migrants near the German combat supply ship 'Frankfurt am Main' during EUNAVFOR Med, also known as Operation Sophia, in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya, Tuesday, March 29, 2016
German Navy sailors surround a boat with more than 100 migrants near the German combat supply ship 'Frankfurt am Main' during EUNAVFOR Med, also known as Operation Sophia, in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya, Tuesday, March 29, 2016 - Sputnik International
Subscribe
The Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders, or MSF) organization denies accusations made by Gefira foundation of smuggling migrants into Europe by picking them up off the Libyan coast and bringing them to Italy despite proximity to Tunisian ports, Tomasso Fabbri, the MSF Italy mission's head, told Sputnik on Thursday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — Fabbri said that MSF acts in accordance to ethics of medical organization.

"MSF are not smugglers, we are in the Mediterranean Sea because the humanitarian situation requires it… As a humanitarian medical organization we simply cannot stand by and look on from the shore."

He stressed that all MSF rescue operation were completed in accordance with the law.

"Time and time again we have expressed our outrage at the way EU and Member State authorities focus on targeting smugglers rather than on saving lives and offering dignity to those who flee. In May this year MSF dropped all EU and member States funding for our projects around the world in order to speak out against the policies which have provokes a humanitarian crisis on European soil," the head of mission added.

The Russian Defense Ministry said Monday that militants of the so-called Syrian opposition attacked a Russian mobile military hospital in Aleppo, killing two Russian military medics and wounding one. Local residents also sustained wounds. - Sputnik International
MSF Deeply Regrets Deaths of Russian Medical Staff in Aleppo Hospital Attack
Gefira is an organization, part of the Pan-European think-tank, focused on pressing geopolitical and financial issues. The foundation "provides in-depth and comprehensive analysis of and valuable insight into current events that investors, financial planners and politicians need to know to anticipate the world of tomorrow," according to its website.

Europe has been beset by a massive refugee crisis, with hundreds of thousands of undocumented migrants fleeing their crisis-torn countries in the Middle East and North Africa to escape violence and poverty.

The majority of them cross the Mediterranean Sea and arrive in the European Union using southern EU nations as transit points. One of the most acute issues regarding migrants is allocation of hundreds of accompanied children, searching for their relatives in European countries, providing them necessary assistance.

Newsfeed
0
To participate in the discussion
log in or register
loader
Chats
Заголовок открываемого материала