Libyan coast guards arrest more than 700 illegal migrants in the Mediterranean

Libyan coast guards on Sunday arrested more than 700 illegal migrants in the Mediterranean and sent them back to Libya.

The coast guards also announced that five other migrants, including a child, died in the shipwreck of their boat, according to fishermen who rescued survivors.

In a tweet on Monday, the spokesperson for the International Organization for Migration (IOM), Safa Msehli, said that more than 700 migrants were stopped in the Mediterranean on Sunday and sent back to the ports of Zaouia and Tripoli.

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Among the survivors were more than 60 women and at least 40 children, who were then taken to detention centers.

Since January, the Libyan coastal guards have stopped about 7,500 migrants in the Mediterranean and sent them back to the country, according to data released by IOM.

During the last three days, more than 1,400 migrants arrived on the Italian island of Lampedusa, onboard about 15 boats.