Libya's coast guard said it has intercepted 490 African migrants, including dozens of children and women  off the coast of Tripoli on Sunday.

Sunday's rescue operations which was the third rescue operation of the day, brought the total number of migrants trying to reach Europe, but taken back to Libya, to well over 1,000 since last week alone.

Libyan authorities have stepped up efforts to stem the flow of migrants, with European assistance.

ibya has emerged as a major transit point to Europe for those fleeing poverty and civil war elsewhere in Africa. Traffickers have exploited Libya's chaos following the 2011 uprising that toppled and later killed longtime ruler Moammar Gaddafi.

Meanwhile the migration policies of the European Union have directly resulted in slavery conditions for migrants in Libya.

In April 2017, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that along the North African migrant routes its staff discovered "slave markets" where hundreds of African young men are being tormented.

The EU has pushed to curb migration and tighten its borders, but it has not provided alternative safe and legal paths for migrants and refugees. This has inevitably led to more dangerous conditions for people already in transit countries such as Libya. Slavery, unfortunately, has been a direct consequence of that.