The Libyan coastguard recovered 1,124 migrants floating in wooden and rubber boats in the Mediterranean Sea over the last few days and returned them to the Libyan coast, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said Monday.
The Italian government had decided in July to launch a naval mission providing technical and logistical support to the Libyan coastguard.
The move was seen as a potential game changer in Europe’s quest to stop sea migration from North Africa.
In the latest rescue mission, IOM said, 155 people including 18 women and 10 children were rescued on Monday near the capital city of Tripoli.
The migrants came from several countries, including Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Sudan as well as Sub-Saharan Africa and Syria, according to Italian media reports.
Around 114,000 migrants have landed in southern Europe since the start of the year, and about 82 per cent ended up in Italy, according to data from the IOM in July.
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