Libya's navy says some 100 migrants are believed missing at sea and that at least 279 others have been rescued off the Libyan coast.

Wednesday's statement says the migrants, mostly Africans, had embarked on the perilous trip across the Mediterranean in several vessels. Those missing were all from one single rubber boat that got ruptured while at sea.

The navy says the survivors, who were found on Tuesday, were taken a naval base in the capital, Tripoli.

On Sunday, the Libyan navy said it rescued 272 migrants.

Libya descended into chaos following the 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. It has since become a frequently used route to Europe for those fleeing poverty and conflict.

Libya has increased efforts to stem the flow of migrants.

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Sudan's pound currency weakened to 30.5 pounds to the U.S. dollar on Tuesday from about 29.5 pounds a day earlier, traders said, continuing its fall amid protests over bread prices and an acute shortage of hard currency.

Street protests broke out across the northeastern African country after bread prices doubled in recent days, following a government announcement late last month that it was eliminating subsidies in its 2018 budget as part of austerity measures.

This month Sudan devalued its pound currency to 18 per U.S. dollar from 6.7 pounds to the dollar previously. Hard currency remains scarce in the formal banking system however, forcing importers to resort to an increasingly expensive black market.

"The dollar is rising on a daily basis and there is a strong appetite to buy at any price given its scarcity on the market," one black market trader told Reuters.

The government has ruled out a market-determined exchange rate and the black market rate for pounds has been steadily weakening against the dollar since late last month, when the devaluation was announced.

"I expect the dollar price to continue to increase in the coming days because companies and importers are buying dollars in large quantities since the beginning of the year becaus