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A8 WORLD NEWS
Wednesday 23 OctOber 2019
UNHCR probes Libya-Malta interception in migrant rescue

By RENATA BRITO to EU-funded detention
GIADA ZAMPANO centers where many are
Associated Press victims of extortion, sexual
ROME (AP) — The U.N. refu- abuse and human traffick-
gee agency is investigat- ing.
ing why Malta last week According to the UNHCR
allegedly asked the Libyan there are currently 650,000
coast guard to intercept a migrants in Libya.
migrant boat in a zone of According to the transcript,
the Mediterranean under Maltese authorities justified
Maltese responsibility, in the interception saying that
possible violation of mari- the Libyans "had (taken)
time law, a U.N. official said the case earlier, outside
Tuesday. the Maltese Search and
Vincent Cochetel, the U.N. Rescue region."
High Commissioner for Ref- Ever since Libya registered
ugees' special envoy for a massive search-and-res-
the central Mediterranean, cue area of the Mediterra-
told reporters in Rome that nean Sea last year, the Eu-
"there's some evidence ropean Union left the task
that Malta requested as- of migrant rescues largely
sistance (from) the Libyan to the nation currently at
coast guard to intervene" war.
in its own search and res- In this Sept. 17, 2019, file photo, migrants aboard a blue plastic boat are seen in the Mediterranean As a result, sea arrivals to
cue region on Oct. 18. Sea. Associated Press Italy dropped dramatically
He said that "we are look- from 21,426 from January
ing into the reasons of Mal- call and GPS position from the first contact, Malta's nautical miles from Tripoli. 1 to October 9 of last year,
ta's request," including that the boat carrying 50 mi- rescue and coordination The Libyan coast guard to 7,939 in the same period
Malta may have asked Lib- grants, including 10 women center stopped answering did not answer repeated this year.
ya to intervene for techni- and five children, early that calls from Alarm Phone, requests from AP about The same did not happen
cal reasons. afternoon and informed which attempted to follow the case. The Maltese in the tiny European archi-
"The problem is that the mi- Malta about the case, as it up on the rescue. By 5 p.m. government declined to pelago nation of Malta,
grants were disembarked was in the country's search the boat reported it was comment about the case, which continued being re-
in Libya. That's certainly a and rescue region. leaking and later that a he- which could also raise hu- sponsible for search-and-
violation of maritime laws "We will take care of every- licopter was flying over it. man rights issues. rescue in waters close to
... It's clear that Libya isn't a thing" a Maltese officer on At 9:30 pm, nearly seven According to international the Italian island of Lampe-
safe port," he added. duty told an Alarm Phone hours later, Malta informed maritime law, people res- dusa and north of Libya's
The Oct. 18 interception activist at 2:40 p.m., ac- Alarm Phone that the boat cued at sea should be search-and-rescue area.
was reported by Alarm cording to a transcript of had been intercepted by taken to the nearest port So far this year Malta has
Phone, an independent the call provided to the the EU-trained Libyan coast of safety. But migrants res- seen nearly 3,000 migrant
hotline for migrants in need Associated Press by Alarm guard, some 41 nautical cued by the Libyan coast arrivals by sea compared
of rescue at sea. Phone. miles from the Italian island guard are returned to the to 989 in the same period
The group first received a But in the hours following of Lampedusa and 110 war-torn country and sent last year.q

Oslo police shoot to stop man driving on sidewalk, 3 injured

By JAN M. OLSEN capital. Johan Fredriksen, The yellow-and-blue am-
Associated Press a senior police officer, said bulance was stolen after
COPENHAGEN, Denmark the ambulance ran into a authorities responded to a
(AP) — An armed Norwe- stroller carrying two seven- traffic accident on an Oslo
gian man stole an ambu- month old twins, though traffic circle in which a car
lance and drove it along they were not believed to had turned over. The man
a sidewalk in Oslo on Tues- be seriously injured. An el- left the scene on foot and
day, injuring two toddlers derly couple who dived un- pointed a weapon at po-
as police tried to stop him der a parked car to avoid lice officers before stealing
by shooting at the tires and the ambulance escaped the ambulance. A 25-year-
ramming the vehicle. injury. Police shot at the old woman who was a pas-
The 32-year-old man was tires to stop the ambulance senger in the overturned
injured and arrested on sus- and did not target the car was later arrested. Both
picion of attempted mur- man, Fredriksen said. The the man and the woman
der, authorities said. vehicle stopped after be- are known to the police,
Inside the stolen ambu- ing rammed by police. Lier Mettid told reporters.
lance, police found an Uzi Police detain a main, bottom left laying on the ground, next to A video posted by several Anders Bayer, a spokes-
submachine gun, a shot- a damaged ambulance that he stole after an incident in the Norwegian media showed man for Oslo University Hos-
gun and what they said center of Oslo, Tuesday, Oct. 22, 2019. how police officers pulled pital, confirmed to Norwe-
were "large amounts" of Associated Press the man out of the am- gian news agency NTB that
narcotics. "It is too early to Investigator Grete Lier Met- man by name. "It is, how- bulance through the side the ambulance was stolen
say whether this is terror- tid said the suspect was ever, too early to say any- window because the front by an armed person. Three
related, but we are inves- known to have had ties to thing about the motive," door had been damaged employees in the vehicle
tigating broadly and fully," far-right groups. Lier Mettid told a news con- when it collided with obsta- when it was stolen were un-
police said in a statement. Police did not identify the ference in the Norwegian cles, including a road sign. harmed, Bayer added. q