TRIPOLI, Nov. 7 (Xinhua) — Libya’s Ministry of Defense, under the UN-recognized Government of National Unity (GNU), announced on Friday that it targeted several boats used for smuggling illegal migrants in northwestern Libya.
According to a post by the state-run Libya National TV on social media platform Facebook, the airstrikes, conducted inside Zuwara Port, about 120 km west of the capital Tripoli, were carried out with precision and without causing any human casualties.
Field sources told the channel that the airstrikes followed close monitoring and tracking of smuggling networks operating in the area.
According to the ministry, the operation was part of ongoing security efforts to combat human trafficking networks and curb the flow of migrants through Libya’s coastal areas.
Due to the insecurity and chaos that followed the country’s 2011 uprising, Libya has become a hotspot for migrants seeking to cross the Mediterranean towards European shores.
