Libyan coastguard intercepts 137 migrants

Libya's coastguard intercepted 137 migrants including five women and three children yesterday as they attempted to reach Europe, a migration official told AFP.

Amine al-Boussefi, head of a government agency in Tripoli tackling clandestine migration, said "137 migrants were successfully rescued by the coastguard... then handed over to us".

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The migrants, from several African countries, were aboard an inflatable boat intercepted yesterday morning around 40 kilometres (23 miles) north of Sayyad, a seaside village west of Tripoli, navy spokesman General Ayoub Qassem said.