No Mercy

Doctors Without Borders says "hostility" from Libya has forced it to suspend offshore rescues of boat migrants by its ship, Prudence. Libya recently told non-governmental groups to stay away.

  Doctors Without Borders more commonly called by its French name, Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF),  accused the European Union and Libya of creating a "blockade" in Libyan coastal waters that would result in more Mediterranean deaths and more migrants stuck in Libyan detention.

MSF's Director of Operations, Brice de le Vingne, accused European states and Libyan authorities of "jointly implementing a blockade on the ability of people to seek safety" and assaulting their dignity. The recent developments represent another worrying element of an increasingly hostile environment for life-saving operations," he said.

Loris De Filippi, president of MSF's Italian arm said, "We are suspending our activities because now we feel that the threatening behavior by the Libyan coastguard is very serious ... we cannot put our colleagues in danger."

Another aid group active in the Mediterranean, Proactiva Open Arms, also criticized the EU, with its founder Oscar Camps tweeting: "the first NGO out, this is just what the EU wants."