Desperate African youths seem to be bent on getting to Europe through illegal routes despite the odds. Latest evidence – naval coastguards in Libya say they have rescued over 400 migrants in two separate operations as their boats drifted off the western coast.
They say that thirty-five women and 16 children were among 324 illegal migrants rescued in one of the operations last Friday with help from a fishing boat.
According to the coastguards, the migrants, from countries such as Nigeria, Chad, Mali and Libya, were drifting in two inflatable boats that probably had failed engines, about seven nautical miles from Zuwara near the Tunisian border.
Dr. Abdel al-Misrati who works with a charitable organization said the guards also rescued 117 migrants, including five women and two babies, off the coast of Zawiya, west of the capital, Tripoli.
Incidentally, Libya became attractive as a route for desperate youths eager to cross the Mediterranean Sea into Europe since the 2011 uprising that toppled the authoritarian Head of State, Muammer Ghadafi.
The migrant youths have refused to listen to all entreaties about the risks involved in their quest to get to Europe through Libya, where they believe that the pasture is greener.
