Libyan Coast Guard Arrests 600 Illegal Migrants Heading for Europe

The authorities based in Tripoli made the arrests on Saturday as part of a crackdown on those who migrate illegally from Africans to Europe and use Libya as a point of transit.

Libyan authorities have detained 600 illegal migrants bound for Europe and seized telecommunications equipment, report local officials in the Tripoli region, who said that those detained had been taken to a detention center in Tripoli, where authorities were distributing food and drink.

Tripoli's government, which is not recognized internationally, has stepped up operations targeting people trafficking humans from African countries to Europe in the aftermath of the migrant boat disaster in April, when hundreds of migrants died after their boat capsized in the Mediterranean.

Even though the Libyan coast has always been a popular destination for migrants seeking a passage to Europe, the people trafficking industry through Libya has boomed following the overthrow of Colonel Gaddafi in 2011, as smugglers exploit the collapse in government authority.

Last Sunday the Tripoli-based government announced it had arrested 400 illegal migrants after the launch of an operation to crackdown on people smugglers. The migrants were arrested as they prepared to board boats headed for Europe; most of them were Somalis and Ethiopians. 

Almost 600 illegal migrants from sub-Saharan African were also detained by the Libyan coastguard at the beginning of May, having tried to set off in a fishing boat, said the authorities.

The Tripoli-based government was set up last August by the Fajr Libya [Libya Dawn] militia alliance, which is in engaged in a power struggle with the internationally recognized government based in the eastern city of Tobruk.