More than 900 African and Asian migrants – including at least 25 minors and seven pregnant women – en route to Europe have been rescued by a Libyan Coast Guard patrol, Al-Monitor reports. A navy spokesman for the embattled North African country, Gen. Ayoub Qassem, stated Saturday that the coast guard seized five inflatable boats and a wooden vessel. “While the wooden one did not have a motor.”The potential disaster being averted is a slim silver lining in the otherwise deepening migration and drowning crisis encircling Libyan waters. People smugglers have taken advantage of the disarray in the battle-torn country since 2011, when their dictatorial leader Muammar Qaddafi was killed. Two weeks before, the Libyan Coast Guard allegedly shot at a migrant-filled boat -- prompting many to jump overboard, and leading to the deaths of all 34, including children.

Source: Fox News June 18, 2017 18:56 UTC