“Over 1,000 migrants were intercepted by the Libyan coast guard in the past two days,” tweeted Safa Msehli, the IOM spokeswoman.

About 10,000 irregular migrants, including women and children, were rescued off the Libyan coast so far this year, according to local sources.

Since the toppling of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has been suffering insecurity and chaos, making the country a preferred point of departure for irregular migrants aiming to cross the Mediterranean Sea towards European countries.