“We were alerted… to the position of a migrant boat” around 30 kilometres (20 miles) off Zawiya, west of Tripoli, navy captain Rami al-Hadi Ghomed said. The navy rescued “112 migrants, including 30 women and three children, aboard an inflatable boat”, said navy spokesman Ayoub Kacem. The navy gave no details on the origin of the boats, but smugglers usually launch departures from western Libya, just 300 kilometres from the Italian coast. Recent years have seen thousands of migrants infiltrate the vast southern border of Libya in attempts to cross the Mediterranean to Europe. At least 337 migrants have died or disappeared off the coast of Libya since the start of the year, according to the International Organization for Migration.

Source: Manila Bulletin March 10, 2018 23:03 UTC