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Photos of dead children: "This is the largest cemetery in the world"; EU is to blame

A Spanish NGO has published photos of dead children and women thrown ashore on Libya beach

Source: B92 Wednesday, May 26, 2021 | 12:30

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Tanjug/AP Photo/Salvatore Cavalli

The non-governmental organization "Proactiva Open Arms" announced that it received those shocking photos from eyewitnesses, not wanting to reveal their identity, noting that the photos show people who tried to reach the EU via a deadly route, across the Mediterranean. The NGO showed photos of the bodies of children, partially covered with clothes, as well as women, presumably their mothers, who were thrown ashore by the water. They were lying in the sand.

"We are in shock," Proactiva Open Arms Communications Director, Laura Lanuza, told the BBC.

"When people try to escape from Libya, they should not be sent back there or left in the Mediterranean. There should be rescue teams to save them. The Mediterranean is the largest cemetery in the world," she concluded. Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi also reacted to the shocking photos, saying: "Images of the bodies of babies and children thrown ashore by the sea are simply unacceptable."

But who is to blame?

For the first time, the European Union was unequivocally mentioned in that context, because the UN said today that the EU can be considered partially responsible for not responding to calls for help, obstructing humanitarian efforts to rescue and sending refugees back to Libya, Reuters reported.