Libya’s coast guard intercepts 108 Europe-bound migrants

Libya’s coast guard says it has intercepted 108 Europe-bound migrants off the country’s Mediterranean coast.

Spokesman Ayoub Gassim says the rubber boat with the African and Middle Eastern migrants, including 13 women and seven children, was stopped on Monday off the western city of Sabratha.

Sabratha is one of the biggest launching points for the mainly African migrants making the dangerous voyage across the Mediterranean Sea.

Gassim says the migrants were given humanitarian and medical assistance before being taken to a detention center in western town of Zawiya.

Libya slid into chaos after the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed Moammar Gadhafi. It has emerged as a major transit point for migrants fleeing war and poverty in Africa and the Middle East to Europe.