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Libyan coast guard intercepts 124 Europe-bound migrants

Libyan coast guard intercepts 124 Europe-bound migrants | iNFOnews.ca
In this frame grab from Egyptian State Television, a blindfolded Hisham el-Ashmawi, a prominent Egyptian militant is escorted by Egyptian military officers and placed in a vehicle after being taken off a military plane at an airport in Cairo, Egypt, Wednesday, May 29, 2019. El-Ashmawi was captured last October in the Libyan city of Derna, a longtime bastion of Islamic militants, by commander Khalifa Hifter's self-styled Libyan National Army. (Egyptian State Television via AP)

BENGHAZI, Libya – Libya’s coast guard says it has intercepted 124 Europe-bound migrants, including a woman and children, off the country’s Mediterranean coast.

Spokesman Ayoub Gassim says Wednesday that two rubber boats carrying African, Arab and Pakistani migrants, including a woman and 20 children, were intercepted Tuesday off the city of Zuwara, 100 kilometres (60 miles) west of the Libyan capital, Tripoli.

He says the migrants were given humanitarian and medical aid and then taken to a refugee camp in Tripoli.

Libya became a major conduit for African migrants and refugees fleeing to Europe after the 2011 uprising that ousted and later killed longtime ruler Moammar Gadhafi.

Libyan authorities have stepped up efforts to stem the flow of migrants, with European assistance.

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