CAIRO (AP) — Libya's coast guard says it has intercepted some 100 African migrants, including dozens of children and women, in the Mediterranean Sea near its shores.

Spokesman Ayoub Gassim says a boat, whose passengers included 22 women and 26 children, was stopped Sunday off the coast of the town of Zliten.

He says the migrants were given humanitarian and medical aid, and were taken to a naval base in the capital, Tripoli.

Libya 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.

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