Four suspected migrant smugglers were killed in an exchange of fire with the Libyan coastguard off western Libya today, spokesman Ayoub Qassem said. “The coastguard boat detected the gunmen’s boat by radar during a patrol,” Qassem told Reuters. Read more: 700 refugees rescued off Libya coast“The gunmen were asked to stop but they refused to follow the rules, which means most likely they were smugglers of illegal migrants. The coastguards fired back too.”Two of the suspected smugglers were arrested and one was missing, Qassem said. A German journalist travelling on the coastguard boat suffered a minor injury when he tumbled during the clash, he said.

Source: Libya Today April 06, 2017 14:26 UTC