For the first time, a group of refugees have been directly evacuated from Libya to Italy, the U.N. Refugee Agency (UNHCR) announced Saturday, in what it called a "ground-breaking" development.
The 162 migrants, many of them children and women from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Yemen, were flown over in two Italian military aircraft after months of waiting in detention facilities.
"This is really ground-breaking and a much welcome development," said Vincent Cochetel, the U.N. envoy in charge of the central Mediterranean, adding: "We really hope other countries will follow the same path."
Most migrants attempt to cross the Mediterranean from Libya on dilapidated boats. That number, however, has dropped since the Italian government signed an agreement with Libya, which rights critics say has simply led to hundreds of thousands being stuck in Libyan detention facilities, where they face abuse and torture.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 3,100 people died while trying to cross the Mediterranean so far this year. Roughly 118,000 landed on Italian coasts so far this year.
