More than 900 migrants from Asia and Africa who hoped to reach Europe were rescued off the coast of Libya by the Coast Guard.

“A patrol of the coast guards of Zawia (45 km west of Tripoli) intercepted Friday at dawn five inflatable boats and a wooden boat carrying 906 migrants,” said the spokesman of the Libyan navy, General Ayoub Kacem. The coast guards depend on the navy in Libya. 98 women, including seven pregnant women, and 25 children were aboard the boats.

Libya is still plunged into post-Gaddafi chaos and the country has become the gateway to illegal immigration to Europe.

Since 2017, Italy, a country in southern Europe, has seen more than 60,000 clandestine migrants arrive on its coasts. The Italian authorities have registered more than 65,000 arrivals over the last six months, an increase of 80% compared to the same period last year.

Since the controversial agreement between the European Union and Turkey to reduce the number of migrants arriving in Europe by Greece, Italy has become a new route taken by clandestine migrants.


Source:https://howafrica.com/mediterranean-more-than-900-migrants-rescued-off-libya/