An NGO operating a rescue vessel in the Mediterranean Sea said they rescued ten migrants off the coast of Libya overnight Thursday into Friday.

The Italian NGO ‘Mediterranea Saving Humans’ released footage showing what they say are migrants thrown at sea from a “military-type” boat that came near their rescue vessel about 30 nautical miles north of the Libyan capital Tripoli.

The NGO said in a statement that militiamen punched and kicked the ten migrants, pushing them into rough waters. The NGO said its teams promptly acted and rescued all ten migrants.

The NGO also said their vessel came under threat multiple times during the past days as they were sailing off the Libyan coast but in international waters. ‘Mediterranea Saving Humans’ said that both Libyan coast guard vessels and masked militiamen on unmarked speedboats had flanked their NGO vessel asking them to leave.

Libya, a major transit country for migrants trying to reach Europe, plunged into chaos after an uprising toppled its autocratic ruler Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. Militias are often involved in human trafficking and the relationship between some of them and the Libyan Coast Guard remains murky.

The migration route from northern Africa to southern Europe is considered one of the most dangerous in the world, with almost 24,500 people dying or disappearing on the Mediterranean crossing in the past decade, according to the IOM, the United Nations migration agency.

Most of the deaths have been attributed to small boats setting off from the coasts of Tunisia and Libya.