0R15 9173.0 0.0% 0R1E 8151.0 0.0% 0M69 20225.0 60.6434% 0R2V 226.5 0.6667% 0QYR 1444.5 1.404% 0QYP 425.0 0.0% 0RUK None None% 0RYA 1530.0 -2.8571% 0RIH 179.7 0.0% 0RIH 175.1 -2.5598% 0R1O 212.5 9900.0% 0R1O None None% 0QFP None None% 0M2Z 250.6141 0.2757% 0VSO 33.18 -6.8108% 0R1I None None% 0QZI 587.0 0.0% 0QZ0 220.0 0.0% 0NZF None None% 0YXG 172.4228 -1.6245%
World news
Boat with 700 Europe-bound migrants intercepted off Libya
Image Source: ©2023 Kalkine Media®
A vessel carrying at least 700 migrants has been intercepted off the eastern coast of Libya.
It was one of the largest interceptions in recent months of migrants seeking to reach Europe through the war-torn North African country.
The coast guard said the boat was stopped on Friday off the Mediterranean town of Moura, 90 kilometres (56 miles) west of the eastern city of Benghazi.
It said in a statement that the migrants hail from different nations and that those who illegally entered Libya would be handed over to their home countries.
The statement did not provide further details.
The coast guard posted images on Facebook showing a large, overcrowded vessel with most of those on board appearing to be young people.
It was one of the largest interceptions in recent months of migrants sailing to Europe.
In August last year, Italian military vessels aided a boat crammed with 539 migrants off the southern island of Lampedusa. The boat was launched from Libyan shores.
Libya has in recent years emerged as the dominant transit point for migrants seeking a better quality of life in Europe. The oil-rich country plunged into chaos following a Nato-backed uprising that toppled and killed longtime autocrat Moammar Gadhafi in 2011.
Human traffickers in recent years have benefited from the chaos in Libya, smuggling in migrants across the country’s lengthy borders with six nations.
The migrants are then packed into ill-equipped rubber boats and other vessels and set off on risky sea voyages. Officials did not say what kind of vessel was found over the weekend.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) has reported 1,522 dead or missing migrants in the Mediterranean this year.
Overall, the IOM says 24,871 migrants have died or gone missing in the Mediterranean since 2014, with the real number believed to be even higher given the number of shipwrecks that are not reported.
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