Hundreds of thousands of migrants from Africa and the Middle East have crossed the Libyan desert and taken to flimsy boats on the Mediterranean in the hope of reaching Europe in recent years. (Photo: AP) Leaders agreed on the principle of setting up a mechanism to identify legitimate migrants fleeing war and persecution, and to use the United Nations to register them in Niger and Chad so as to prevent them from being exploited by people-smugglers.
The Libyan Navy rescues nearly 500 migrants in three operations in the seas west of the capital Tripoli.