At least eleven migrants died at sea and another 263 were rescued on Sunday in two separate operations off the coast of Libya, the country's navy said.

In the first operation, "a coastguard patrol... was able to rescue 83 illegal migrants and recovered 11 bodies in a rubber boat five nautical miles northeast of Sabratha", navy spokesman General Ayoub Kacem told AFP.

Sabratha is about 70 kilometres (40 miles) west of Tripoli.

"The 11 dead migrants drowned when the dinghy overturned but were recovered by the survivors and hoisted into the boat," said Mohamad Erhouma, a member of the nearby city of Zawiyah's coastguard.

The second rescue operation took place off the coast of Zliten in the country's east, where 180 migrants were rescued from two boats, according to General Kacem.

Zliten is about 170 kilometres (100 miles) east of Tripoli.

The migrants, of different African nationalities, "were aboard two inflatable boats when they were intercepted and then brought back to the port of Tripoli", he said.

Since the 2011 fall and killing of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi, Libya has become a key launch pad for migrants making desperate bids to reach Europe, often on unseaworthy vessels.

Last year alone, 3,116 people died attempting the crossing, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), including 2,833 from Libya.

The conflict-riven country is regularly singled out for the exploitation and ill-treatment of migrants from sub-Saharan Africa.

Related Links
Bringing Order To A World Of Disasters
A world of storm and tempest
When the Earth Quakes

Tweet

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only

Italy, Greece to launch plan to identify missing migrants
The Hague (AFP) April 18, 2018
Four European Mediterranean countries are launching an initiative in June to identify thousands of missing migrants who died or went missing during the perilous sea crossing to the continent. Italy, Greece, Malta and Cyprus - hardest hit by waves of migrants form Syria and Libya or people elsewhere in Africa - will gather on June 11 in Rome to discuss the plan, the International Commission on Missing Persons (ICMP) said on Wednesday. "If we succeed in launching this initiative, and it looks ve ... read more