Libyan Coast Guard Intercepts 200 Europe-Bound Migrants

World

October 31st, 10:32am

Asharq Al-Awsat

Migrants on a wooden boat are rescued by "Save the Children" NGO crew from the ship Vos Hestia in the Mediterranean sea off Libya coast, June 18, 2017. REUTERS/Stefano Rellandini

Libya's coast guard said it intercepted 200 Europe-bound migrants, including seven women and three children, off the country's Mediterranean coast. The Libyan navy has issued a statement on Thursday saying that it rescued two wooden boats carrying mainly African and Arab migrants the previous day. The statement added that they received humanitarian aid before being sent to a detention center in the capital, Tripoli. Libya has emerged as a major transit point for migrants fleeing war and poverty to Europe. In recent years, the European Union has partnered with the coast guard and other Libyan forces to try to stop the dangerous sea crossings, the Associated Press. Rights groups, however, have criticized those efforts, saying they've left migrants at the mercy of armed groups or confined in squalid detention centers rife with abuses.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://aawsat.com/english/home/article/1970056/libyan-coast-guard-intercepts-200-europe-bound-migrants