Coastguard intercepts 81 migrants off Libyan coast

The Libyan coastguard intercepted 81 migrants off the coast of Libya and returned them to the capital of the war-ravaged country, the UN migration agency said on Tuesday.

According to the International Organization for Migration, the coastguard plucked the migrants, among them 18 women and four children, from the Mediterranean late Monday. Back in Tripoli, the agency offered the migrants emergency medical assistance. It was not clear where the migrants were from, AP said.

The UN refugee agency reported last week that the total number of migrants intercepted by the Libyan coastguard in the past month has risen 121 percent from the same period last year.

The facilities for migrants in Libya are rife with abuses and have faced criticism from human rights groups over their dangerous conditions.