Libya
Libyan coastguards intercepted three boats on Sunday carrying 600 migrants trying to reach Europe by sea, according to a Libyan official.
“The coastguard west (Libya) patrolled the area of the refinery Zaouia (45 km west of Tripoli) around 06:00 am this morning when they stopped three dinghies,” said Colonel Ayoub Qassem,, spokesperson for the Tripoli Navy.
Libya coastguard stops 600 migrants trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe https://t.co/QU3buIhKwd HT
— DAWNS Digest (DAWNSDigest) March 28, 2016AFPpic.twitter.com/UPTEqiH4FY
Qassem said the arrested migrants “are from several African countries,” adding that there were about 80 women, some pregnant.
The French Defence Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian on Thursday said there are about 800,000 migrants waiting to enter Europe from Libya,a statement which the Colonel has since refuted.
“These figures are exaggerated… This means that in one year more than 2,000 migrants depart daily, It’s huge,” said Qassem.
The chaos reigning in Libya since the death of Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 continue to benefit human traffickers, and thousands of migrants trying to reach Europe from Libya, just 300 kilometers from the Italian coast .
AFP
Go to video
Greece cracks down on irregular migration, says it’s "not an open corridor to Europe"
Go to video
Nearly 200 migrants intercepted off the coast of Senegal
02:15
Small boat crossings by migrants in northern France on the rise
01:50
UN urges renewed political and climate action in Libya amid humanitarian and governance crises
01:09
Gattuso named Italy coach as Azzurri scramble to salvage World Cup place
01:43
TikTok star Khaby Lame plays soccer in Brazil after US detention