CAIRO — At least five migrants died and more than 90 were missing after their boat capsized off Libya's western coast, a major embarkation point for the perilous Mediterranean crossing to Europe, the Libyan coast guard said Thursday. The Europe-bound boat had set out last Friday from the nearby city of Sabratha before it ran out of fuel. Libya has become one of the main migrant transit points to Europe as traffickers have exploited the chaos following the 2011 uprising. The funds have mainly gone to beefing up Libya's coast guard, reinforcing its southern border and improving conditions for migrants in detention centers. Three-quarters of the arrivals this year have landed in Italy, with the rest arriving in Greece, Cyprus and Spain.

Source: The North Africa Journal September 21, 2017 16:30 UTC