No fewer than 50 Nigerian migrants were among the hundreds of migrants rescued on Saturday in the Mediterranean by Libya’s coastguard and an international charity, Doctors Without Borders. They were rescued by Aquarius, a ship being operated by MSF, 21 miles from the coast west of Tripoli. The migrants and their smugglers were trying to take advantage of calm seas as they launched a flurry of boats towards Italy. The coastguard posted pictures of detained sub-Saharan African migrants sitting in an inflatable rubber boat on the beach in the dark. Libya’s EU-backed coastguard has also stepped up interceptions, often cutting migrant boats off before they can reach international vessels that would bring them to Europe.

Source: Libya Today March 10, 2018 16:41 UTC