CAIRO — Libya’s navy confirmed on Friday that it rescued three boats carrying a total of 290 Europe-bound migrants off the country’s Mediterranean coast, a day after a German aid group released video showing a sinking raft packed with dozens of migrants, with some people scattered in the sea. Libyan coast guards first reported finding a sinking rubber boat whose bottom had collapsed on Thursday, leaving most migrants in the water and hanging onto what was left of the boat and plastic barrels. A statement posted Friday on the navy press center’s official Facebook page says that boat carried 87 migrants, including six women and a child. Earlier, the coast guard came to the rescue of two other rubber boats carrying a total of 203 migrants, according to a separate statement. Libya became a major conduit for African migrants and refugees fleeing to Europe after the 2011 uprising that ousted and killed dictator Moammar Gadhafi and amid the subsequent chaos and turmoil that engulfed the oil-rich North African country.

Source: Washington Post May 24, 2019 08:35 UTC