IOM Trains Libyan Forces on Migrant Rescue Missions

Migrants who were freed by security forces in Tobruk. (Tobruk security forces)
Migrants who were freed by security forces in Tobruk. (Tobruk security forces)
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IOM Trains Libyan Forces on Migrant Rescue Missions

Migrants who were freed by security forces in Tobruk. (Tobruk security forces)
Migrants who were freed by security forces in Tobruk. (Tobruk security forces)

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday it organized a two-week training for Libyan officials to rescue irregular migrants from drowning in the Mediterranean.

The training is sponsored by the Organization under its project “Protecting Vulnerable Migrants and Stabilizing Communities in Libya,” which is financed by the European Union.

It aims to train concerned Libyan guards on search and rescue operations and provide them with a better understanding of safety concepts, including occupational safety and rescue swimming, and their implementation.

The IOM initiative comes at a time when Libya is suffering from an influx of thousands of migrants from Africa and Asia seeking to take the risky journey through the Mediterranean to reach Europe.

In a related development, security forces in Tobruk revealed that they raided a warehouse where they found 287 irregular Egyptian migrants, who were held by smugglers on the outskirts of the city, ahead of their transit to European shores.

The Security Directorate of Tobruk said a criminal investigations team and police members “are pursuing the gangs involved in the smuggling operation to bring them to justice.”

A week ago, the 444th Combat Brigade in Tripoli announced that its forces in Bani Walid had uncovered a den used by an outlaw gang that kidnaps and tortures migrants.

The Brigade said its forces liberated five kidnapped Egyptian workers who were subject to severe torture and beatings.

The coast guard has rescued 500 illegal migrants in nine successful operations off the Libyan coast.

The migrants were turned over to the Anti-Illegal Migration Authority to complete the procedures for their deportation to their countries.



Iranian Officials: Quds Force Chief Out of Contact since Beirut Strikes

FILE PHOTO:  Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, the head of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, speaks during a ceremony, in Tehran, Iran April 14, 2022. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, the head of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, speaks during a ceremony, in Tehran, Iran April 14, 2022. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
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Iranian Officials: Quds Force Chief Out of Contact since Beirut Strikes

FILE PHOTO:  Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, the head of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, speaks during a ceremony, in Tehran, Iran April 14, 2022. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
FILE PHOTO: Brigadier General Esmail Qaani, the head of the Revolutionary Guards' Quds Force, speaks during a ceremony, in Tehran, Iran April 14, 2022. Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS

Iran's Quds Force commander Esmail Qaani, who travelled to Lebanon after the killing last month of Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah in an Israeli airstrike, has not been heard from since strikes on Beirut late last week, two senior Iranian security officials told Reuters.

One of the officials said Qaani was in Beirut's southern suburbs, known as the Dahiyeh, during a strike on Thursday that was reported to have targeted senior Hezbollah official Hashem Safieddine but the official said he was not meeting Safieddine.

The official said Iran and Hezbollah had not been able to contact Qaani since then.

Israel has been hitting multiple targets in Dahiyeh as it pursues a campaign against Iran-backed Lebanese group Hezbollah.

The second official also said Qaani had travelled to Lebanon after the killing of Nasrallah and the Iranian authorities had not been able to contact him since the strike against Safieddine, who was widely expected to be the next Hezbollah chief.

Hezbollah has made no comment so far on Safieddine.
The Quds Force, the overseas arm of Iran's Revolutionary Guards, oversees dealings with militias allied with Tehran across the Middle East, such as Hezbollah.

Iranian Revolutionary Guards commander Brigadier General Abbas Nilforoushan was killed with Nasrallah in his bunker when it was hit on Sept. 27 by Israeli bombs.