Italian and Libyan officials nearly 800 people were rescued from rickety boats in distress in the Mediterranean Sea over the weekend.  All are would-be migrants who paid human traffickers to help them escape from the Middle East or Africa.

Even before the weekend, things were out of control.  Italy’s Coast Guard reports picking up 520 migrants in the Strait of Sicily on Thursday.  They were packed onto five boats that couldn’t make the run from Libya and sent distress signals.  Another 171 were rescued just north of Tripoli.  And Libya’s Navy announced it rescued 105 migrants from a boat that broke down off the coast of Garabulli, 50km east of the capital.

This year, more than 200,000 people have attempted the perilous journey from North Africa, especially Libya where the government is barely functioning and sea patrols are few.  The migrants tend to come from poor or conflict-ridden countries in Africa and the Middle East, especially Syria.