Migrants, who were rescued after their boat capsized in the Mediterranean Sea off the Tunisian Coast after they had left Libya, are seen inside a local Red Cresent chapter in Zarzis, Tunisia May 11, 2019. REUTERS/Zoubei Souissi
Tripoli: The Libyan navy announced on Sunday the rescue of 147 illegal immigrants off the coast in two separate operations by the Coast Guard.
The spokesman for the Libyan Naval forces, Brigadier General Ayoub Qassem, said in a statement that a patrol of the Coast Guard was able to monitor and rescue a rubber boat carrying 51 illegal immigrants 50 miles north of the city.
He added that the second rescue operation was based on a communique, where a patrol of the western sector of the Coast Guard rescued 96 illegal immigrants aboard a boat, including 16 women and four children.
He explained that the illegal immigrants who were rescued were transferred to the Tripoli naval base, where they were provided with humanitarian and medical assistance and were handed over to the illegal immigration control agency.
In recent years, like other North African coasts, Libyan coasts have become a major launching pad for illegal immigration to European shores. (QNA)
