Aid group slams Italy's return of refugee

The Italian island of Lampedusa has seen thousands of migrants from Libya Aid group Medecins Sans Frontieres Friday condemned Italy for agreeing to send fleeing migrants back to war-torn Libya, where it said they risk being tortured and caught up in violence. Italy is Libya's former colonial ruler and is playing a pivotal role in the NATO-led air campaign against strongman Moamer Kadhafi's forces by supplying bases for aircraft.
"It is unacceptable that a country that is bombing in the name of protecting civilians would simultaneously turn back the victims of that war," the Paris-based humanitarian group (MSF) said in a statement.
Italian Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said last week Italy had agreed with the Libyan rebel National Transitional Council on "cooperation to prevent and counter illegal immigrants, including the problems with repatriation."
"This agreement constitutes a death sentence for the populations who risk being trapped in this conflict again," said Christopher Stokes, MSF's general director, in the statement.
The Italian island of Lampedusa in the Mediterranean has seen thousands of arrivals of migrants and refugees by boat mainly from Tunisia and Libya this year, often in dangerous conditions that have cost lives at sea.
MSF cited testimony from refugees who reported being tortured in detention in Libya after being sent back. The statement came as European Union leaders were meeting in Brussels Friday to discuss migration policies.