Ship carrying hundreds of migrants intercepted off Libya amid border closure warning

Images released by the Libyan coast guard show makeshift vessels carrying hundreds of migrants being intercepted offshore near the town of Gohneima, east of the capital, Tripoli.

Officials said four boats were carrying up to 490 African migrants attempting to reach Europe.

The photo was released just days after Italy denied two migrant rescue ships permission to dock in their ports amid warnings from Prime Minister Giuseppe Conte that the European ‘Schengen’ zone of border-free travel could be in danger if no solution is found to the issue of migration.