About 6,500 migrants have been rescued off
Libya, the Italian coastguard says, in one of the biggest operations of its
kind to date.
Some 40 co-ordinated
rescue missions took place about 20km (12 miles) off the Libyan town of
Sabratha, it added.
Video footage shows
migrants, said to be from Eritrea and Somalia, cheering and some swimming to
rescue vessels, while others carried babies aboard.
On Sunday more than
1,100 migrants were rescued in the same area.
The instability in
Libya has made the country a hub for people-trafficking.
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'Push'
factor drives migrants away from Libya to Europe
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Migrant
tragedy: Anatomy of a shipwreck
§
Migrant
story enters new phase
Monday's operations
involved vessels from Italy as well as the EU's border agency Frontex and the
NGOs Proactiva Open Arms and Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF).
The migrants had set
off in overcrowded and unseaworthy vessels with enough fuel to reach waiting
rescuers, AP reported.
AP
Last year more than one million migrants - many fleeing
the civil war in Syria - arrived in Europe, sparking a crisis as countries
struggled to cope with the influx, and creating division in the EU over how
best to deal with resettling people.
In March, the EU struck a deal
with Turkey to try to stop migrants crossing from Turkey to Greece while Balkan
nations closed their borders to migrants. As a result, the number of arrivals
using the so-called eastern Mediterranean route has fallen.
However, migrants from African
countries such as Eritrea and Somalia as well as west African nations such as
Nigeria and the Gambia are continuing to attempt the crossing from Libya to
Italy.
Some are seeking economic
opportunities in Europe - others are fleeing war, instability or authoritarian
governments.
About 106,000 people have arrived
in Italy so far this year while 2,726 have died in the attempt, according to
the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The IOM says there are a further
275,000 migrants in Libya waiting to travel.
Overall, about 284,000 migrants
have entered Europe so far this year through various transit routes across
Africa, Asia or the Middle East.
Several vessels run by
humanitarian organisations help patrol the route but risks were highlighted
earlier this month when MSF said one of its boats was fired on by armed men.
AP
AP
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