Libya rescues 120 migrants off Tripoli coast

More than 120 migrants, including women and children, were rescued by Libyan coastguards on Sunday off the coast of Tripoli after their boat ran into trouble.

The migrants set off Friday from Sabratha - a town 70km west of Libya's capital that has become a staging ground for traffickers - but their boat's engine failed, a coastguard official said.

An AFP photographer at the scene of the rescue said the vessel was intercepted by a coastguard patrol boat around 20 nautical miles northeast of Tripoli.

The official said those on board were of various African nationalities and included 10 women and five children, including a baby.