Libya faces people smuggling problem
Syrian refugees, fearing rising violence in Tripoli, pay thousands of dollars to try to escape to Europe.
Published On 9 May 2014
Libyan authorities have released more than 100 Syrians caught trying to enter Europe illegally.
Some people paid smugglers $1,000 to be taken to the Italian island of Lampedusa, hoping to gain asylum in Europe.
Syrians who fled to Libya to escape the fighting in their country now fear violence in Tripoli.
Local officials in Zwara, Libya, the nearest point to Italy, said people smuggling has become a problem.
Al Jazeera’s Omar Al Saleh reports from the coastal town of Zwara in western Libya.
Source: Al Jazeera