Libyan coast guard rescues some 160 Europe-bound migrants

CAIRO – Libya’s coast guard says it has intercepted some 160 Europe-bound African migrants, including dozens of children and women, in the Mediterranean Sea near its shores.

Spokesman Ayoub Gassim says a boat carrying 158 passengers including 34 women and nine children was stopped Monday off the coast of the western town of Khoms.

Libya has emerged as a major transit point to Europe for those fleeing poverty and civil war elsewhere in Africa. Traffickers have exploited Libya’s chaos following the 2011 uprising that toppled and later killed longtime ruler Moammar Gaddafi.

He says the migrants were given humanitarian and medical aid, and were taken to a refugee camp in Khoms town.

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