Libya coastguard rescues over 1,500 migrants off coast in week

Libya coastguard rescues over 1,500 migrants off coast in week
February 11, 2021, 11:55 am

A file photo shows aid workers of the Spanish NGO Open Arms assisting migrants after fleeing Libya on board a precarious wooden boat in the Mediterranean sea, about 110 miles north of Libya, on Jan. 2, 2021. (AP)

Libya has rescued more than 1,500 would-be migrants off its west coast in the past week, a non-governmental organization said.

“The Libyan coastguard has conducted several rescue operations from a week ago until (Wednesday) and rescued about 1,500 people,” Adel al-Idrissi from the International Rescue Committee told AFP.

On Wednesday alone, 240 African migrants were rescued from two boats off the port city of Al-Khums, said Lieutenant-Colonel Mohammed Abdel Aali of the coastguard.

“We encountered difficulties in getting the (migrants from the first boat) on board,” but the second group “showed less opposition,” he said.

Migrants intercepted off the Libyan coast object to being returned to the country, preferring to wait for humanitarian rescue ships.

Libya, which descended into chaos following the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi, has emerged as a major transit point for African and Arab migrants fleeing war and poverty to Europe.

International agencies frequently denounce the return to Libya of migrants intercepted at sea due to the chaotic situation in the country and poor conditions in detention centers.