Twitter/ Zoie O Brittany Pettibone took to Twitter to announce the Mediterranean will launch

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Generation Identitaire plans to stop boats carrying migrants who have been rescued at sea to the European Union shores where they will try to seek asylum. Charities and NGOs are currently rescuing lives off the coast of Libya as thousands escape the war-torn country every day. Those leaving Libya are often not Libyan but from poorer nations in Africa, which they left to seek work elsewhere. However, since the fall of Gaddafi in Libya and the rise of militia groups, most have been raped, beaten, jailed and sold on black slave markets. Young, political representatives of Generation Identitaire - many of whom are not European but from the US and Canada - have claimed they are “defending Europe”. On Sunday the group announced their ship the C-Star will be boarded by their crew this week.

Zoie O'Brien Migrant boats in international waters are rescued after escaping Libyan horror

They said: “The C-Star is on her way and tomorrow the first members of our Crew will arrive in Catania.” Brittany Pettibone announced on her Twitter site: “I have arrived in gorgeous Catania, Sicily for the Defend Europe mission… It’s gonna be kicking off pretty soon. “I am very excited to see what the next couple of weeks bring.” The group has been backed by people across Europe who want to seal borders to desperate souls from Africa and the Middle East - raising $100,000 to fund their boat. The vessel will have a crew of 15 and will allegedly try to stop boats entering Sicily - but will not stop the rescue missions for the time being. NGOs have said they will be breaking maritime laws which state there is a responsibility on the seafaring community to save all lives at sea.

Heartbreaking images of migrants held in Libya detention centre Tue, March 7, 2017 Sixty women, 20 children and 115 men were being held at the detention centre when UNICEF visited on 29th January 2017. Conditions at the centre are poor, with dozens of people crowded into small spaces on old mattresses. Play slideshow UNICEF 1 of 11 A migrant gestures from behind the bars of a cell at a detention centre in Libya

And those working on the seven ships from all over Europe, currently rescuing children, some just hours old, as well as their families, said the GI mission could lead to deaths. One anonymous NGO worker told Express.co.uk: “You call them economic migrants - and yes some of them are - but what you need to understand is while they are seeking work - they are doing so because they will die without it, and their families will too. “So, call them economic migrants, they are in technicality, but understand they may as well be coming from war zones because the outcome is the same, they are all facing death. “Wouldn’t you want to try and survive?” This year alone 2,000 people have died making the perilous crossing from Libya to Italy - a journey which they have each paid around $2,000 for. Many are escaping the worst kinds of torture imaginable. However, Italy has announced the Government can no longer take the strain as Eu nations refuse to share the burden of taking in refugees.

Twitter The C-Star could sail as early as this week as 'crew' arrive in Sicily