Libya’s coast guard intercepted 574 refugees bound for Europe from the Mediterranean Sea in a single day, a spokesperson has said.
The three groups included 388 men, 66 women and 19 children, a coast guard spokesman, Ayoub Gassim, said in a statement.
He said one group of 292 refugees, including 42 women and 10 children, embarked on the perilous trip for Europe on three rubber boats, but the coast guard stopped them off the coast of the western town of Zawiya.
Another group of 101 refugees on a rubber boat were also rescued off the coast of the capital, Tripoli, the coast guard said in a separate statement.
It also said it had rescued 181 others, including 24 women and nine children, who were in two boats in a separate incident off Tripoli.
Mr Gassim said the refugees came from both African and Middle Eastern countries.
The three groups were intercepted on Monday.
All were given humanitarian aid and were handed over to anti-migration authorities in the town of Tajoura and Tripoli, Mr Gassim said.
The interceptions came a day after the UN refugee agency said it is looking into possible violations of international law involving the transport to Libya of 108 migrants rescued at sea by an Italian-flagged mercantile ship.
The UN high commissioner for refugees in Italy said on Twitter that Libya is not a secure port, making such a transfer a violation of international law.
An Italian politician aboard a rescue ship operated by a non-governmental organisation, Nicola Frantoianni, said on Facebook they had proof the ship, Asso Ventotto, was taking the migrants to Libya, calling it “a very serious precedent” if ordered by the Italian coast guard.
Responding to the suspicions, Italy’s interior minister, Matteo Salvini said on Facebook that the Italian coast guard was not involved in the rescue, which was coordinated by the Libyan coast guard.
Libya has emerged as a major transit point to Europe for those fleeing poverty and civil war elsewhere in Africa and the Middle East.
Traffickers have exploited the chaos in Libya following the 2011 uprising in which longtime dictator Muammar Gaddafi was killed.
Libyan authorities have stepped up efforts to stem the flow of migrants, with assistance from European countries, who are eager to slow a phenomenon far-right wing parties have seized upon to gain electoral support.
