29/08/2023 (Agence Europe) – On 28 August, MSF Sea announced on X (formerly Twitter) that 56 organisations have called for “an immediate end to the obstruction of humanitarian aid in the Mediterranean” after three civilian search and rescue vessels—the Aurora, Open Arms, and Sea-Eye 4—were detained by the Italian authorities. As a shipwreck off the coast of Greece cost more than 600 people their lives in June, these associations point to the risk of seeing a further increase in the number of deaths. “Search and rescue ships are urgently needed to prevent further loss of life on the deadliest migration route in the world”, the joint statement reads. Since early 2023, “there have been eight cases of detentions of NGO vessels in Italy”, which have prevented NGOs from sailing for 160 days and saving people. Link to the statement: https://aeur.eu/f/8d7 (SP)