European ships rescue thousands off Libyan coast
Spanish and Italian naval ships, along with vessels from non-government groups, rescued thousands of migrants off the Libyan coast Monday.
The dramatic operation took place just 13 miles north of the town of Sabratha in Libya.
Groups such as Proactiva Open Arms and Doctors Without Borders were helping to take on about 3,000 people who had been traveling in 20 wooden boats.
Migrants from Eritrea and Somalia cheered as the rescue boats arrived, with some jumping into the water and swimming toward them while others carefully carried babies onto the rescue ships.
Tens of thousands of Africans take the dangerous Mediterranean Sea route as a gateway to a better life in Europe. Libya’s chaos and lack of border controls have made it into a transit route.
The chaos intensified over the weekend. At least 38 Libyan forces were killed as the Islamic State group dispatched a dozen suicide bombers to stop their push to drive the extremists out of their last major bastion in the country, officials said.
Akram Gliwan, a spokesman for the Misrata hospital, said the dead and wounded from fighting in the nearby city of Sirte had flooded in over the last 24 hours. He said at least 185 people were wounded, with 20 in critical condition.
Reda Issa, a media official with the anti-Islamic State operation, said the extremist group set off 12 suicide car bombs on Sunday, with three hitting their targets. Five of the bombs were destroyed by air strikes, and the other attacks were foiled by ground forces. He said the militants are cornered in two neighborhoods.
“It was fierce yesterday. After nearly 100 days of the battles, IS is now fighting its last battle,” said Issa. “Full control over Sirte is hours from now.”
The Libyan forces — mostly from the adjacent city of Misrata — support a United Nations-brokered government based in Tripoli. They have driven Islamic State out of most of Sirte over the last two months with help from U.S. air strikes.
Islamic State and other extremist groups gained a foothold in Libya during the turmoil that followed the 2011 uprising that toppled longtime dictator Moammar Khadafy.
The country has been split between rival parliaments and governments, each backed by a loose array of militias and tribes. Western nations view the newly formed U.N.-brokered government as the best hope for uniting the country, but Libya’s parliament, which meets in the far east, has refused to accept it.