Hundreds of migrants saved after rubber boats get into trouble in Mediterranean
The migrants - mostly Arab and African - are saved as rescue charities warn of the increasing danger and instability of Libya.
Friday 24 May 2019 16:03, UK
Almost 300 migrants have been rescued from the Mediterranean after trying to reach Europe from Libya.
The migrants - mostly from Arab and African countries - were saved as rescue charities warned of the increasing danger and instability of Libya.
The International Organisation for Migration in Libya described conditions in the north African country as "extremely worrying", saying there are "no safe ports in Libya and migrants should not be returned to detention".
Three rubber boats were rescued from the sea on Thursday, according to Libya's navy.
The first boat was found about 30 miles from the Libyan capital Tripoli with its bottom collapsed, leaving most of its 87 migrants - including a child - in the water and clinging on to what was left of the boat.
Earlier in the day another two boats were saved, carrying a total of 203 migrants near Zlitin, about 100 miles east of Tripoli.
Naval forces spokesman Ayoub Qassem said they had been taken back to the cities of Khomas and Janzur before being handed over to police.
On Friday a fourth boat reached the Italian island of Lampedusa with 57 men and one woman who were from Morocco, Algeria, Syria, Libya, Gambia and Bangladesh.
Libya has long been a gathering point for people fleeing African countries for Europe.
Italy's most southern point, Lampedusa, is only 185 miles from Tripoli - closer to the northern coast of Africa than it is to the Italian mainland.
More than 1,100 migrants have reached Italy this year, according to the United Nations, although this is a small number compared with more than 12,600 who arrived in Greece during the same period.
Since Libya's dictator Muammar Gaddafi was killed in 2011, the oil-rich country has struggled with political unrest.
In April this year, the situation worsened, with Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army advancing on the capital Tripoli.
His troops have since been halted in the city's southern suburbs by fighters loyal to Prime Minister Fayez al Serraj's Government of National Accord.
But despite Libya's own internal turmoil, desperate people continue to flock from other African nations, hoping to use it as a departure point for what they hope will be a better life in Europe.
Thousands of them have died in recent years while making the sea crossing and others have been detained and abuse by people smugglers and other groups.