Authorities in Libya say that more than 150 sub-Saharan African migrants have been rescued off the Libyan coast.

Deputy head of naval operations in Tripoli, Mohamed al-Baty, said Thursday that a Libyan gang led one group of migrants to think the lights of a Libyan oil field were the lights of Europe. Al-Baty says those aboard were Nigerian, Ghanaian, and Senegalese and are currently detained in Libyan.

Also Thursday, a naval spokesman said the Libyan coast guard detained 108 migrants, among them 35 women, from a boat near the coastal city of Tajoura.

Many sub-Saharan African migrants leave Libyan shores by boat every year bound for Europe in hopes of a better life.
 


Source: Associated Press