By Libya Herald staff.
Tripoli, 23 May 2015:
The Libyan coastguard today intercepted another people-smuggling vessel off the coast and brought 600 migrants . . .[restrict]ashore in Tripoli. This raises to at least 1,000 the number of illegals seized in the last six days.
The Libya Dawn antigovernment in the capital is seeking to demonstrate that it is cracking down on human traffickers who are charging up to $2,000 a head for the dangerous Mediterranean voyage toward Europe.
It is seeking EU financial and logistical support, and therefore de facto recognition from Brussels, to combat the trade. The problem is that the migrant smugglers are now dominated by the selfsame militias that have sustained the Libya Dawn operation.
According to AFP, there are now some 7,000 illegal migrants, the majority from sub-Saharan Africa held in 16 detention centres, all of which would be within Libya Dawn-held territory.
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