A commercial ship has rescued 35 Europe-bound migrants off Libya's Mediterranean coast and returned them to the capital, Tripoli, International Organization for Migration said.
The UN agency tweeted that migrants, who were intersected on Thursday, were given medical assistance and relief items upon disembarkation.
Libya has emerged as a major transit point for African and Arab migrants fleeing war and poverty to Europe. Most migrants make the perilous journey in ill-equipped and unsafe rubber boats.
“Saving lives at sea is a moral and legal obligation. It is however unacceptable that migrants continue to be returned to an unsafe port,” said the IOM.
As of last October, roughly 19,000 migrants have drowned or disappeared on the sea route since 2014, according to IOM, The Associated Press reported.
Last week, a rubber dinghy packed with 91 migrants that set out from Libyan shores for Europe, was reported to be missing in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea after leaving Libya on Feb. 8.
