Gambian migrants and others rescued off the coast of Libya have arrived at the southern Italian port of Taranto. 

The rescue at sea, of the nearly 300 migrants, is one of five different operations by the crew of a humanitarian vessel operated by Doctors Without Borders.

According to rescuers, most of the migrants were from Gambia, Egypt, and Libya. 

About half of the 293 rescued passengers on the Geo Barents were unaccompanied minors.

Doctors Without Borders said on Twitter that those rescued faced “harrowing journeys, abuse, and detention in Libya” before they set out to cross the Mediterranean Sea.

The rescue mission took place in international waters off Libya and Malta.

Italian authorities assigned Geo Barents the port in Taranto in the southeast region nine days after the initial rescue.

“The time needed before obtaining a port for disembarking is still too long. It should be assigned immediately after the rescue operation,” said Riccardo Gatti of Doctors Without Borders, who was aboard the ship.

Similarly, the Ocean Viking saved about 35 migrants on another humanitarian rescue operation. 

The rescue included three children, most of them from Syria, in international waters off Malta.

Despite its life-saving impact, Italy’s new far-right premier, Giorgia Meloni, vowed during her campaign to crack down on illegal immigration.