Libyan coastguard rescues 200 illegal migrants

CAIRO - 15 June 2020: Libyan coastguard forces managed to rescue 200 illegal migrants while on their way to European coasts on a rubber boat.

Safaa Mashali, spokeswoman for the International Organization for Migration said on twitter the rescue operation was part of humanitarian efforts by the Libyan side to offer rescue services and maintain sovereignty over Libyan territories.

Days ago, the International Organization for Migration said that hundreds people, including children, were intercepted by the Libyan coastguard.
 

According to Mashali, the Libyan authorities have so far detained more than 11,000 migrants "in appalling conditions".

In Feb. the UN refugee agency said that the total number of migrants intercepted by the Libyan coast guard in the past month rose 121 percent from the same period last year, The New York Times reported on Saturday.

The UNHCR said in January alone, it registered 1,040 refugees and migrants the coast guard stopped and brought back to Libyan shores, a dramatic increase from the 469 rescued that month the year before.

The UNHCR classified the population as 70 percent men, 18 percent women and 12 percent children.