 Nearly 2,000 boat migrants rescued off Libya Rome (AFP) Dec 3, 2015 - Nearly 2,000 migrants have been rescued off the Libyan coast in 11 separate operations, the Italian navy said Thursday, after a break in bad weather sparked fresh attempts at the perilous Mediterranean crossing. The migrants were plucked from eight dinghies and three boats by the Italian coastguard, the navy, a Doctors Without Borders (MSF) boat and two vessels taking part in the EU's Operation Sophia, which patrols the sea for people smugglers. The rescue followed a lull in arrivals caused by bad weather, during which only around 400 migrants were picked up in over 10 days -- a startlingly low number compared to the summer months, when an average of 760 people a day were rescued. The Italian coastguard said the rescues took place after the command centre in Rome received calls for help by satellite phone from the migrant vessels. Four dinghies with a total of 458 migrants on board were intercepted by the coast guard, while another 300 migrants were picked up from three other dinghies by the Italian navy. Spanish frigate Canarias and Britain's Enterprise, both deployed in the Sophia operation, picked up 286 and 416 migrants respectively from two boats, while MSF's Bourbon Argos saved 428 migrants from a boat and 96 from a dinghy. MSF also said Thursday they had launched a joint operation with environmental group Greenpeace to rescue people risking their lives on the crossing between Turkey and Greece. The operation will use three boats based on Greece's Lesbos island, in cooperation with the Greek coastguard. According to the United Nations, the number of migrants crossing the Mediterranean to Europe fell by more than a third last month, due to bad weather and a Turkish crackdown on traffickers in the Aegean on the route into Greece. The International Organization for Migration estimated in late November that nearly 860,000 migrants had landed in Europe so far this year, with more than 3,500 dying while crossing the Mediterranean in search of safety. On Tuesday, the UN's children's agency warned that women and children make up an increasing proportion of the migrants and refugees on the move, and currently account for more than half, up from just 27 percent a few months ago.
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The Doctors Without Borders charity and environmental group Greenpeace have launched a joint operation to rescue migrants crossing the Aegean Sea from Turkey to Greece, they said Thursday.
The two organisations said that since November 28 they have been using three rigid hulled inflatable boats (RHIBs) based on the northern coast of Lesbos to help hundreds of people on the move, rescuing many of them from boats in obvious distress.
"Horrified by the unabated refugee crisis in the Mediterranean, we were compelled to act in whatever way we could," Alexandra Messare, Greenpeace Greece's programme director, said in a statement.
"We have brought our maritime experience to this collaboration ... in the hope of saving lives," she added.
Doctors Without Borders, which goes by its French acronym MSF, said that in addition to the boats it also had medical teams on standby at landing sites on the Greek islands to provide emergency care for people in critical condition, and sending those in need to hospital using three of its ambulances.
MSF said that in coming days it planned to add three more boats to help expand rescue capacity on other islands.
Marietta Provopolu, head of MSF's Greece division, said that "our activities in the Aegean are only a temporary solution to mitigate the suffering and loss of life we have seen in recent months."
"As the weather conditions worsen and the sea becomes even more dangerous, we know there will be new tragedies at sea," she added.
Nearly 895,000 people have crossed the Mediterranean to Europe so far this year, and more than 3,500 have died trying, according to the UN refugee agency.
The vast majority of those who have attempted the perilous journey are refugees fleeing conflict and persecution in Syria, Afghanistan and Iraq, and most of them have landed in Greece.
Despite worsening weather conditions, people are continuing to cross, with some 140,000 landing on Europe's shores in November.
MSF said its medical teams on Lesbos had carried out 6,154 consultations in the past two months, and had notices "rising numbers of people suffering from respiratory tract infections and hypothermia, linked to the increasingly rough seas and cold weather."
The two organisations urged the European Union to make it possible for the migrants and refugees to safely seek protection within the bloc.
To bring down the numbers attempting the dangerous sea voyage, they demanded that European countries create dignified and safe reception for migrants and refugees on the land border between Turkey and Greece.
"It is unacceptable that the main way to access international protection in Europe involves risking one's life at sea," said Stefano Argenziano, MSF's operations coordinator.
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