Aerial view shows a packed migrant boat en route from Libya in the central Mediterranean Sea March 11, 2023 in this handout image. PHOTO: REUTERSThirty people are missing and 17 were rescued in the central Mediterranean on Sunday after the boat in which they were travelling from Libya capsized in bad weather, Italy's coastguard said. The tragedy comes just weeks after a Feb. 26 shipwreck near the southern region of Calabria, in which at least 79 died. Rome's ability to rescue migrants at sea has come under scrutiny following last month's shipwreck and the issue is piling pressure on the rightwing government which took office last October promising to curb the influx of migrants. On Saturday, the coastguard said that more than 1,300 migrants had been rescued in three operations off the southern tip of Italy, with a further 200 saved off Sicily.

Source: Libya Today March 14, 2023 02:05 UTC