5,000 migrants rescued in 48 hours off Libya

Some 5,000 migrants bound for Italy were rescued in waters off the coast of Libya between Thursday and Saturday morning by Italian and Libyan coastguards, statements from both countries said.

Around 2,900 people were rescued on Thursday, 2,300 of whom were found in international waters and taken to Italy, while 580 who were picked up in Libyan waters were returned to the north African country.

Through Friday until Saturday morning, coastguards rescued another 2,100 migrants packed in 17 vessels, and found the body of one man who drowned, the Italian coastguard said.

The number of migrants arriving in Italy has soared this year by more than 30 percent in comparison with the same period last year, with 46,000 people arriving so far.

For every 39 migrants who survive the perilous journey across the Mediterranean one dies, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said, adding that 1,244 migrants were known to have died so far this year.

Libya on Thursday asked Italy to arm the patrol boats it uses in the fight against illegal immigration across the Mediterranean from North Africa to Europe.

Italian Interior Minister Marco Minniti this week handed over to the Libyan coastguard four patrol boats repaired in Italy as part of a cooperation deal against people traffickers.

Another six patrol boats are to follow soon after the training of their Libyan crews, he said.

"These boats are not fitted with arms. We can't use them for patrols when the traffickers are increasingly armed," Abdullah Tomia, a senior naval officer in charge of cooperation with Italy, told a news conference in Tripoli.

"We've asked Italy to arm the patrol boats," he said, while noting that Libya was still under a UN arms embargo in force since its 2011 revolution that toppled dictator Muammar Gaddafi.

"Before the revolution, we were dealing with unarmed traffickers. But no we are up against fierce, armed gangs," Tomia said.

Libyan authorities have complained about lacking the means to deal with the large numbers of migrants who try crossing the Mediterranean in makeshift boats.

Last year, a record 181,000 migrants reached Italy, 90 percent of them from Libya.