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This photo, taken on November 4, 2016, shows refugees sitting on a rubber boat during a rescue operation by the Topaz Responder, a rescue ship run by Maltese NGO Moas and the Italian Red Cross, off the Libyan coast. (By AFP)

Some 3,000 refugees and asylum seekers have reportedly been rescued from unseaworthy boats off the Libyan coast during a second day of operations in the Mediterranean Sea.

The Italian coastguard made the announcement on Saturday, saying that the refugees had been pulled to safety during 35 rescue operations launched in the day. It said another 15 operations would be underway before nightfall.

An official with the German NGO Jugend Rettet, which participated in the operations, said a further 1,000 people remained to be rescued from inflatable dinghies as rescue ships had reached capacity. She added that the number of incoming refugeeswas expected to rise owing to the fine spring weather.

Reports said most of the refugees were from sub-Saharan Africa, fleeing poverty and starvation there.

A day earlier, the Italian coastguard had carried out 19 rescue operations aided by NGOs, including the medical charity Doctors without Borders. A total of 2,074 refugees aboard 16 rubber rafts and three small wooden boats were taken to safety in those operations.

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Libya remains a major gateway for asylum seekers attempting to reach Europe via the Mediterranean Sea, with more than 450,000 people having made the crossing over the past three years.

According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), over 32,000 refugees have arrived in Europe so far this year. However, over 650 people have died or gone missing since January 1.

Last week, the United Nations raised concerns about the increasing number of the African refugees passing through Libya and being traded in slave markets.

Europe has been facing an unprecedented influx of refugees, most of whom are fleeing conflict zones in North Africa and the Middle East, particularly Syria. Many blame major European powers for the exodus, saying their policies have led to a surge in terrorism and conflicts in the Middle East, displacing the locals.

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3000 refugees rescued off Libya coast: Italian coastguard - Press TV

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Libya Herald

CBL Governor Elkaber accuses six previous Libyan governments of useless economic policies and of scapegoating ... Libya Herald In an unprecedented attack on all the previous six governments he had served with, Tripoli-based Central Bank of Libya Governor Saddek Elkaber launched a scathing on Libya's executives for their poor economic policies. The attack came in a published ...

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CBL Governor Elkaber accuses six previous Libyan governments of useless economic policies and of scapegoating ... - Libya Herald

Tripoli - At least 97 migrants were missing after their boat sank on Thursday off the Libyan coast, a navy spokesperson said.

Survivors said the missing include 15 women and five children, General Ayoub Qassem told AFP.

He said the Libyan coastguard had rescued a further 23 migrants of various African nationalities just under 10km off the coast of Tripoli.

The boat's hull was completely destroyed and the survivors, all men, were found clinging to a flotation device, he said.

Those who had disappeared were "probably dead", but bad weather had so far prevented the recovery of their bodies, Qassem added.

An AFP photographer said survivors had been given food and medical care at Tripoli port before being transferred to a migrant centre east of the capital.

Six years since the revolution that toppled dictator Moammar Gaddafi, 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 of the migrants board boats operated by people traffickers in western Libya, and make for the Italian island of Lampedusa 300km away.

Since the beginning of this year, at least 590 migrants have died or gone missing along the Libyan coast, the International Organisation for Migration said in late March.

In the absence of an army or regular police force in Libya, several militias act as coastguards but are often themselves accused of complicity or even involvement in the lucrative people-smuggling business.

More than 24 000 migrants arrived in Italy from Libya during the first three months of the year, up from 18 000 during the same period last year, according to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees.

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At least 97 migrants missing as boat sinks off Libya - News24