A Libyan oil tanker today rescued 174 Syrian migrants in international waters off the Italian coast.
Libyan naval spokesman Colonel Ayoub Omar Qassem confirmed tonight to the Libya Herald that the operation had been conducted in cooperation with the Italian coastguard.
All the migrants were taken aboard the unnamed tanker, which is understood to be used to take crude from Libya’s offshore Bouri oilfield to Italy. The vessel will be returning the Syrians to Libya, where they will be handed over to the immigration authorities.
