Migrant deaths surge, EU establishes rescue centre in Libya

The European Union Ambassador to Libya, Nicola Orlando, has revealed that plans have been agreed upon to establish a Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Benghazi, Libya, amidst a surge in migrant deaths.

“We have completed the procedures to establish a Maritime Rescue Coordination Centre in Benghazi under Operation IRINI, with funding from Italy and Malta,” Orlando stated via the X platform.

“This rescue centre, alongside specialised training from IRINI and EUBAM Libya, will strengthen the capabilities of Libyan authorities to conduct maritime search and rescue operations in accordance with international standards and human rights.”

Operation IRINI is an EU military mission launched in 2020 to monitor the implementation of the United Nations mandate regarding the arms embargo in Libya following the Second Libyan Civil War. Meanwhile, the European Union Border Assistance Mission in Libya (EUBAM Libya) is a crisis management mission established by the EU in 2013 to assist and train Libyan security forces in guarding the country’s land, sea, and air borders.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has recorded that more than 1,000 migrants died in Libyan offshore waters in 2025 while attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea. Every day, hundreds of migrants from the sub-Saharan African region attempt to cross from Tunisian and Libyan territories towards Europe using boats.