Libya has rescued more than 1,500 would-be migrants off its west coast in the past week, a non-governmental organization said.
“The Libyan coastguard has conducted several rescue operations from a week ago until (Wednesday) and rescued about 1,500 people,” Adel al-Idrissi from the International Rescue Committee told AFP.
On Wednesday alone, 240 African migrants were rescued from two boats off the port city of Al-Khums, said Lieutenant-Colonel Mohammed Abdel Aali of the coastguard.
“We encountered difficulties in getting the (migrants from the first boat) on board,” but the second group “showed less opposition,” he said.
Migrants intercepted off the Libyan coast object to being returned to the country, preferring to wait for humanitarian rescue ships.
More than 1,200 migrants and asylum-seekers died while crossing the Mediterranean in 2020, according to the International Organization for Migration.
