Refugees at the Libyan border. Operation Pegasus II triggered
(updated Fri 15 p.m.)
The ambassadors of the COPS, the political and security committee of the EU, are meeting at the moment with the question of the evacuation of foreigners at the Tunisian border on the table. According to our information, several countries have indicated that they want to participate in the operation to evacuate refugees and displaced persons who are crowding at the Tunisian border: France, Germany, Italy, Belgium, Malta, Greece. ..
Meeting of the crisis platform
The coordination of these means will be ensured at the European Diplomatic Service, by Agostino Miozzo, the director of the "crisis response" department. A crisis platform meeting is scheduled for Friday afternoon (March 4). "We have enough planes for now. And Djerba airport is congested" has already commented a European diplomat. And he is "preferable for the moment to use the seaway". But it is within the European Civil Protection Mechanism (MIC) and the European Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) that humanitarian coordination and means of evacuation are ensured.
European coordination teams, engaged on site in Libya, Egypt and Tunisia
A team of 6 people from European civil protection is currently deployed on the Tunisia-Libya border to coordinate evacuation operations and support the efforts of international organizations (IOM and UNHCR), a spokesperson said today. of the Commission. According to our information, three other teams from the European Humanitarian Aid Office (ECHO) have been deployed to coordinate humanitarian aid: 2 on the Egyptian side, 6 on the Tunisian side, and 2 in Libyan territory, Benghazi.
NB: if this operation has not yet received a "small name", some countries such as Germany have given the code name "Pegasus" to the operation to evacuate European nationals from Libya. The term "Pegasus II" could therefore be used for the evacuation of other nationals.
Resources committed: An air and sea bridge to evacuate refugees from Tunisia (This paper will be updated during the day)