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The migrants are the latest to risk their lives, trying to cross the Mediterranean to Europe

Published 11:45 PM, August 06, 2017

Updated 11:45 PM, August 06, 2017

DANGEROUS JOURNEY. Migrants wait to be rescued in the Mediterranean Sea, 30 nautical miles from the Libyan coast, on August 6, 2017. Photo by Angelos Tzortzinis/AFP

TRIPOLI, Libya Libya's coastguard intercepted 137 migrants including 5 women and 3 children on Sunday, August 6, as they attempted to reach Europe, a migration official told Agence France-Presse.

Amine al-Boussefi, head of a government agency in Tripoli tackling clandestine migration, said "137 migrants were successfully rescued by the coastguard... then handed over to us."

The migrants, from several African countries, were aboard an inflatable boat intercepted Sunday morning around 40 kilometers (23 miles) north of Sayyad, a seaside village west of Tripoli, navy spokesman General Ayoub Qassem said.

The migrants were taken to a navy base in the capital where the Libyan authorities gave them food, water, and medical treatment, an Agence France-Presse photographer said.

They were then transferred by bus to the eastern Tripoli suburb of Tajoura and handed over to the anti-migration agency.

The Agence France-Presse photographer saw dozens of migrants gathered in a courtyard there, sitting on the ground under the blazing sun as they waited to be put in detention centers.

Six years since a revolution that toppled dictator Moamer Kadhafi, Libya has become a key departure point for migrants risking their lives to cross the Mediterranean to Europe.

Hailing mainly from sub-Saharan countries, most board boats operated by human traffickers in the country's west, heading for the Italian island of Lampedusa 300 kilometers (190 miles) away.

More than 111,000 migrants have reached Europe by sea so far this year, the vast majority of them arriving in Italy, according to the latest figures from the International Organization for Migration.

Over 2,300 have died attempting the crossing. (READ: Numbers tell staggering story of EU migrant crisis) Rappler.com

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Libyan coastguard intercepts 137 migrants - Rappler

3 August, 2017 | Alumni, Culture

Cultural exchange is the central component of the YES program. A YES students goal is not only to learn about American culture, but to serve

28 July, 2017 | Statements

The United States remains committed to working with Libya and our international partners to help resolve the political conflict and advance peace and long-term stability

19 July, 2017 | Statements

The United States is fully committed to working with all Libyans to help advance stabilization and resolve the conflict in Libya. To that end, the

18 July, 2017 | Local Programs, Scholarships and Exchanges

After their pre-departure orientation in Tunis, the group of young Libyans who were selected to participate in the Middle East Partnership Initiative (MEPI) Student Leaders

14 July, 2017 | Events

During Ramadan, the Deputy Chief of Mission, Candace Putnam, hosted anIftar dinner on the occasion of the holy month of Ramadan, with Libyanalumni of exchange

23 June, 2017 | Events, U.S. Foreign Assistance

The U.S. Embassy to Libya (Tunis) In the spirit of Ramadan, a time for reflection, tolerance, generosity and renewed friendship, the United States Embassy

9 June, 2017 | Events

On Tuesday May 23, the U.S. Ambassador to Libya, Peter Bodde, and AFRICOM Commander General Thomas D. Waldhauser met with Libyan Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj

9 June, 2017 | Statements

Tripoli: May 23, 2017 Today, my colleague AFRICOM Commander General Tom Waldhauser and I had a warm and productive meeting with Libyan Prime Minister Fayez

30 May, 2017 | Statements

In light of recent violence around Brak Al-Shatti airbase in Libyas south which again risks escalating into renewed conflict, Taking note of relevant UN Security

11 May, 2017 | Alumni

The U.S. Embassy in Libya maintains dynamic engagement with the network of U.S. government sponsored exchange program alumni from Libya. Last summer, the Embassy hosted

11 May, 2017 | Local Programs

In March 2017, U.S. Embassy Libya launched a workshop entitled, Preserving Historic Photographic Archives in Libya and Tunisia with representatives from the Libyan Department of

11 May, 2017 | Local Programs

In March 2017, U.S. Embassy Libya hosted a cultural heritage and civic engagement workshop in Tunis to help young people in Libya better understand cultural

12 April, 2017 | Statements

In light of recent violence in Libyas south, including near the Tamanhint airbase, which risks escalating into renewed conflict. Taking note of relevant UN Security

24 March, 2017 | Statements

In light of recent conflict in Libyas Oil Crescent and Tripoli, Taking note of relevant UN Security Council resolutions, including UNSCRs 2213, 2259 and 2278,

16 March, 2017 | Statements

The Ambassadors of France, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States reiterate their strong concern regarding violence in the oil crescent and call for

25 February, 2017 | Statements

The Ambassadors of France, Germany, Italy, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States reiterate our commitment to preserving the sovereignty, territorial integrity, unity, and

27 January, 2017 | Messages for U.S. Citizens

The Department of State warns U.S. citizens against all travel to Libya and recommends that U.S. citizens currently in Libya depart immediately. On July 26,

16 September, 2015 | Messages for U.S. Citizens

The Department of State warns U.S. citizens against all travel to Libya and recommends that U.S. citizens currently in Libya depart immediately. On July 26,

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U.S. Embassy in Libya

Refugees and migrants stand on the deck of the Spanish NGO Proactiva Open Arms rescue vessel Golfo Azzurro after being rescued by the Italian Coast Guard at 24 miles (46 km) north of Sabratha, Lybia on February 18, 2017 | David Ramos/Getty Images

Centers holding thousands of migrants are cramped, barren and dirty, according to a report by EU officials.

By Esther King

8/5/17, 4:11 PM CET

Sanitary conditions in refugee detention centers in Libya are severely lacking, according to a report drafted by European Union officials and seen by German magazine Der Spiegel.

The conditions are in line withexpectations poor sanitary conditions, insufficientspace andhygiene tohold more than 1,000 refugees in detention,according to the report EU diplomats sent to Brussels following their visit to Tarek al-Sika detention center in Tripoli earlier this year.

The small area dedicated to distributing medication was a sad sight, it added.

According to the report, many refugees who EU diplomats spoke to said they had been held captive at the center for several months, some for more than a year. Many reported having lost essential possessions money, cell phones, identification papers by the time they reached Libya.

Libyan counterparts told EU diplomats refugees were often held in centers until they paid a ransom. Migrants are sometimes even sold back and forth between detention centers, accordingto the report, which dates back to April.

Refugee rights organizations and NGOs such as Doctors Without Borders have criticized conditions in Libyan refugee centers and slammed the EUs cooperation with Libyan authorities to stem the flow of migrants reaching its shores. German diplomats previouslylikened conditionsin detention centers to those in concentration camps.

According to new Italian interior ministry figures, about 11,100migrants made the dangerous crossing to Italy from Northern Africa many of whom travel through Libya in July compared to more than double that amount in the same month in 2016 (just over 23,500).

The reasons behind the summer drop-off are disputed. But according to Eugenio Ambrosi, the EU director at the International Organization for Migration, the impression is that the stock of those who want to leave Libya is running out. Only 20 percent of the migrants who reach Libya try to cross into Europe, he added.

The EU has pushed for greater efforts to facilitate voluntary returns from Libya, a figure that stands at over6,000so far this year compared to 2,700 in the whole of 2016. European institutions have also disbursed millions of euros in funding for African countries.

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Refugees held in Libya face inhumane conditions: EU diplomats - POLITICO.eu

"There will be no harm done or slight given to Libyan sovereignty, because, if anything, our aim is to strengthen Libyan sovereignty," Roberta Pinotti, the Italian defence minister, told parliament.

But in widespread social media posts, Libyans protested against the Italian presence. Many posted pictures ofOmar al-Mukhtar, anational hero who fought the Italian forces in the early 1900s.

One Italian patrol boat has already reached Libyan waters and a second is due to arrive soon.

Human rights groups have criticised the Italian naval mission, saying it would leave people languishing in detention centres in Libya where they face potential torture or even death.

Italy, along with other EU member states, should be focusing on increasing its search and rescue operations. Instead it has chosen to shirk its responsibilities and endanger the very people it says it is trying to help, said Amnesty International.

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Libyan military strongman threatens Italian ships trying to stop flow of migrants - Telegraph.co.uk

AFP on August 5, 2017, 11:35 pm

New UN envoy to Libya vows 'respect' for sovereignty

Tripoli (AFP) - The new UN envoy to Libya on Saturday started his first visit to the conflict-plagued North African country with a pledge to "respect" its sovereignty and unity.

Ghassan Salame, a Lebanese academic and former culture minister, takes over from Martin Kobler with the task of leading political unity talks between rival factions in the deeply divided country.

He flew in to Mitiga airport, a former air base in Tripoli, and held talks with Fayez al-Sarraj, the embattled head of a UN-backed Government of National Accord contested by a rival administration in eastern Libya.

"I assume my role with the utmost respect for the national sovereignty, independence and unity of Libya," Salame told a news conference flanked by Sarraj at the prime minister's office in the capital.

The talks focused on the economic, political and security "challenges" facing Libya since its 2011 uprising that ousted and killed longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi, the UN envoy said.

Salame said the meeting with Sarraj, also attended by Foreign Minister Mohamed al-Taher Siala, had been "constructive" and that they had "agreed on the urgency to end the suffering of the Libyan people".

The UN mission would return in stages to its headquarters in Tripoli, which it had left in the aftermath of fierce fighting in 2014 between rival militias.

Sarraj said he briefed Salame on an agreement he reached with military strongman Khalifa Haftar, who is based in the east and backs the rival administration, for a ceasefire, political talks and elections.

The deal was struck last month at talks hosted by French President Emmanual Macron, and it has been endorsed by the UN Security Council.

It is the latest attempt to put an end to six years of chaos in oil-rich Libya where rival militias and administrations have been vying to control the country's wealth and cities.

- 'Complete what we started' -

The chaos has hampered Libya's efforts to rebuild its economy which is heavily dependent on oil, and improve condition for its war-weary citizens who complain of water and electricity shortages and spiralling prices.

People trafficking from Libya has also been a source of great concern for Europe.

The United Nations has been struggling for months to relaunch talks on a deal reached in 2015 on setting up a national unity government that has been rejected by Haftar and other factions.

Sarraj has struggled to assert his authority across Libya since he took office in Tripoli in March 2016, and the deal he struck with Haftar last month is seen as a new attempt to restore stability in Libya.

"It is important to step forward and complete what we started," Sarraj said, referrring to the UN-backed political agreement struck in December 2015 that paved the way for the creation of his unity government.

At the end of July, Sarraj called for a referendum on a draft constitution approved by a special elected panel following years of wrangling.

If passed, the draft text would make Libya a republic with a president and two houses of parliament. Tripoli would remain the capital, Islam the state religion and Islamic law a source of legislation.

Last month, Sarraj announced a political roadmap for his country, with presidential and parliamentary elections to be held in March 2018.

Under Kadhafi's four-decade dictatorship Libya had no constitution.

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New UN envoy to Libya vows 'respect' for sovereignty - Yahoo7 News