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Migrants stranded without aid as Tunisia refuses to let ship dock

A Tunisian boat carrying around 40 African migrants has been stranded off the country's coast without aid for more than a week after authorities refused to let them disembark there, the Red Crescent said on Monday. Monji Slim, an official of the Tunisian Red Crescent, said the...

Migrant charity files manslaughter complaint against cargo ship, Libya

The charity Proactiva Open Arms has filed a complaint, including of involuntary manslaughter, with the Spanish police against a cargo ship for failing to help migrants adrift on a destroyed dinghy in the Mediterranean. The captain of the charity's rescue boat said on Saturday he also plans...

Libya: 156 undocumented migrants rescued in open waters

At least 156 undocumented migrants have been rescued off Libya's northwestern coast, the country’s navy said early Thursday. In a statement, naval forces affiliated with Libya’s UN-recognized unity government said the migrants were rescued 26 miles off the coast of the northwestern...

Libyan coast guard rescues some 160 Europe-bound migrants

Libya's coast guard says it has intercepted some 160 Europe-bound African migrants, including dozens of children and women, in the Mediterranean Sea near its shores. Spokesman Ayoub Gassim says a boat carrying 158 passengers including 34 women and nine children was stopped Monday off...

UN envoy warns 'handful' of powerful Libyans can block elections

A "handful" of powerful Libyans are ready to do "whatever they can" to block elections from taking place in the north African country, a UN envoy warned the Security Council Monday. The United Nations is hoping that presidential and parliamentary elections will be held in Libya later...

Eight migrants found dead in lorry container in western Libya

Eight migrants including six children were found dead Monday after suffocating from petrol fumes while packed into a lorry container on the west Libyan coast, authorities said. Another 90 migrants recovered from the container were in critical condition and had been taken to a local...

Food sent to migrants off Sicily as Italy awaits EU offers

Another day's worth of food and beverages was being sent Sunday to a pair of military ships off Sicily as Italy waited for more European nations to pledge to take a share of the hundreds of migrants on board before allowing the asylum-seekers to step off onto Italian soil. Germany agreed to...

UN official: Algerian migrant expulsions resume in desert

A U.N. migration official said Saturday Algeria's government has resumed expelling migrants into the Sahara Desert to die. The head of the U.N.'s International Organization for Migration in Niger, Giuseppe Loprete, tweeted that 391 migrants from 16 countries were abandoned at the...

Islamist-backed candidate becomes first woman mayor of Tunis

Islamist-backed candidate Souad Abderrahim defeated a city official who served under ousted despot Zine el Abidine Ben Ali on Tuesday to become the first woman mayor of the Tunisian capital. "I dedicate this victory to all Tunisian women," Abderrahim said. "My first task will be to...

All oil exports suspended from Libya's east: national firm

All oil exports from Libya's east have been suspended after operations were halted at two key export terminals, the Tripoli-based National Oil Corporation said Monday. The "National Oil Corporation has declared force majeure on crude oil loadings at al-Hariga and Zweitina oil...

Libyan deputy PM’s home attacked inoil port standoff

Unidentified armed men attacked the Tripoli residence of one of Libya’s deputy prime ministers hours after he expressed sympathy for a move by eastern factions to take control of oil ports, the Justice Ministry said Wednesday. The house used by Fathi al-Majbari, part of the leadership of the...

At least 200 migrants rescued off Libya's coast

At least 200 undocumented migrants have been rescued off Libya's coast, the Libyan Navy said late Tuesday. In a statement, navy forces affiliated with Libya’s internationally recognized Government of National Accord said the migrants were rescued 25 miles off the coast of Al-Qaraboli...

Deputy leader of Libyan government reportedly kidnapped

The deputy prime minister of Libya’s internationally recognized Government of National Accord has been kidnapped, a security official of the Tripoli-based government said late Tuesday. The official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Prime Minister Fayez al-Sarraj's deputy,...

Tunisia shepherd dies after extremist attack: ministry

A Tunisian shepherd has died from wounds sustained when he was attacked over the weekend by extremists in the country's mountainous center, the defense ministry said Monday. Mohamed Griri was "attacked by a group of terrorists" on Saturday while grazing his sheep in a closed military...

Libyan coastguard picks up almost 1,000 migrants in one day

Libyan coastguards picked up 948 African migrants on inflatable boats in several operations and also recovered 10 bodies on Sunday, officials and a witness at a naval base said. The operations brings the number, since last week, of mainly African migrants trying to head to Italy but...

Libyan airstrikes target group attacking oil ports

Libyan forces carried out airstrikes against a militia attacking key oil ports in the east, a spokesman said as Libya's national oil firm warned Monday of further damage to oil infrastructure as well as environmental contamination in the north African country. A militia, led by Ibrahim...

Haftar forces launch push against militias in Libya oil crescent

The self-styled Libyan National Army loyal to strongman Khalifa Haftar announced Sunday a "major offensive" to drive rival groups from the country's northeastern oil crescent. Armed groups on Thursday attacked the Ras Lanuf and Al-Sidra terminals held by Haftar's forces around 650...

Tunisian security chiefs fired after mass migrant drowning

Tunisia's interior minister has fired 10 security officials amid an investigation into the sinking of a boat carrying migrants trying to reach Europe that left an estimated 112 dead or missing. It was the deadliest shipwreck this year on the dangerous route from North Africa...