Libya halts more than 400 migrants bound for Europe

Libya's coast guard said today it intercepted more than 400 African migrants attempting to reach Europe, a day after EU leaders agreed on moves to curb mass migration from the country.

General Ayoub Qassem, the coast guard spokesman, said 431 people on inflatable crafts were rounded up between Thursday and Saturday at sea off the town of Sabratha, 70 kilometres west of the capital Tripoli.

"The migrants are of different African nationalities and there are a great deal of women and children among them," he said.

Italy's coastguard said Thursday that more than 1,750 migrants had been rescued in the Mediterranean within 24 hours.

Around 230 people have died en route to Europe since the start of 2017, according to the United Nations.

European Union leaders meeting Friday in Malta approved a new strategy to "break the business model" of traffickers who helped 181,000 mainly African migrants enter the EU via Libya and Italy last year.

The plan includes funding and training Libya's coast guard to make it better able to intercept migrant boats and helping neighbouring countries to close routes into Libya, according to a draft statement seen by AFP.

Lawlessness in Libya since a 2011 uprising that ousted longtime strongman Moamer Kadhafi has allowed smuggling networks to develop a lucrative trafficking trade.

(This article has not been edited by DNA's editorial team and is auto-generated from an agency feed.)