Libyans arrest 545 Europe-bound migrants

More than 500 illegal migrants who had hoped to set off at dawn on Thursday for a new life in Europe were arrested in the Libyan capital, officials say.

Acting on a tip-off, authorities stormed a hideout where the migrants were waiting for people smugglers to take them to boats, migration officials say.

Mohammed Abdelsalam al-Kuwiri, from a migration squad linked to the Tripoli-based government that is not recognized internationally, says 545 migrants were rounded up.

“They are from Africa, and most of them are men. They were taken to a detention center in the capital,” says Mohammed Baker, another migration unit official.

— AFP