Gaddafi accuses Europeans of killing migrants

(Reuters)

Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi has accused European states of killing hundreds of African migrants by deliberately sinking their boats to stop them reaching Europe.

"This tragedy is unfolding. A war on the Mediterranean sea is being waged against Africans," Gaddafi told leaders of African trade unions he met in Tripoli late on Thursday.

"Europe seeks to defend itself and is doing anything it can to prevent migrants from reaching Europe. So they hit the boat and then announce all the people on board died," he said.

"They sometimes come to pretend to rescue a boat but they overturn it in order that the migrant workers on board die."