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TRIPOLI, Aug. 18 (Xinhua) – Libyan navy spokesman Ayob Qassem on Sunday said that 57 illegal migrants have been rescued off the country's western coast.
"A coast guards patrol received a report and rescued 57 migrants on a wooden boat, including 17 women and 9 children," Qassem told Xinhua.
The migrants were rescued some 40 miles off the coast of Zuwara city, some 120 km west of the capital Tripoli, he added.
The spoked migrants of African and Arab nationalities, the spokesman said.
The United Nations Higher Commission of Refugees (UNHCR) said on Saturday that Libya "is not safe port of disembarkation, calling for an end to detention of migrants.
Because of insecurity and chaos, Libya is a preferred point of departure for illegal migrants, many of whom have died on the way.
Improved weather conditions increase the flows of illegal migrants to Europe, particularly off western Libyan coast. Enditem
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