More than 300 migrants intercepted by Libyan coastguard

The Libyan coastguard has said that it has intercepted two rubber boats carrying 324 migrants as they attempted to cross from the North African country to Europe.

Libya’s western coastline is the main departure point for migrants attempting to reach Europe by sea. Most are from sub-Saharan Africa, though recently more Tunisians and Libyans have been trying to cross as well.

Coastguard spokesman Ayoub Qassem said in a statement: “The migrants intercepted about seven miles off the western town of Zuwara on Monday included 35 women and 16 children.”

Most of the migrants were from Chad, Nigeria, Mali and the Ivory Coast.
“There are some others from Tunisia, Pakistan and Morocco. There are also 32 persons, including eight women and six children from Libya, and three families among them,” Qassem said.

The number of migrants crossing from Libya has dropped since July as armed factions and national authorities – under pressure from Italy and the European Union – began to block departures.

According to Italian interior ministry statistics, there has been a dramatic 62 percent decrease in the number of migrants arriving in Italy from Libya between 2016 and 2017.

Photo credit: Reuters. Nigerian migrants waiting in Misrata, Libya before being deported by Libyan authorities.