Libya Rescues 279 Migrants at Sea, but 100 More Are Feared Dead<br />10, 2018<br />TRIPOLI, Libya — The Libyan Navy said on Wednesday<br />that its Coast Guard had rescued at least 279 migrants off the coast of Libya, but that about 100 more were missing and feared dead.<br />The flood of migrants across the Mediterranean over the past few years has prompted the European Union to take numerous measures, including training<br />and equipping the Libyan Coast Guard to stop boats from trying the sea crossing.<br />The United Nations migration agency estimates that more than 3,100 migrants died while trying to cross the Mediterranean<br />in 2017, a number attributed to smugglers’ use of small dinghies and other poor-quality vessels.<br />But the Libyan authorities — under pressure from Italy, where many of the migrants enter Europe — have recently stepped up efforts to stem their flow.<br />But rights groups fear that the measures could also leave tens of thousands of people stranded<br />in Libya, where migrants have described starving in detention centers and suffering abuse.<br />Such measures helped bring down the numbers of migrants crossing to Europe by more than half in 2017 compared with the previous year.
