FILE PHOTO: An inflatable boat from the Spanish vessel Astral operated by the NGO Proactiva collects migrants off the Libyan coast in the Mediterranean Sea. /VCG Image
The Libyan Coast Guard on Saturday intercepted 128 migrants off the country's western coast, authorities said.
"The Coast and Ports Guard handed over to the Tripoli reception center 128 illegal immigrants, who were on rubber boats (at sea)," the Anti-Illegal Immigration Department said.
The migrants are African, Asian and Arab nationals, the department said, adding that humanitarian assistance has been provided to them.
Following the 2011 fall of former leader Muammar Gaddafi's government, Libya has been plagued by a state of insecurity and chaos that prompts thousands of irregular migrants to attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea towards Europe.
According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), more than 8,400 irregular migrants have been intercepted and returned to Libya in 2020.
Thousands of irregular migrants, who were either intercepted at sea or arrested by authorities, remain detained in overcrowded reception centers in Libya, despite repeated international calls to close those centers.