Updated 11.56am - Italian Interior Minister Matteo Salvini proposed on Monday that Libya set up migration reception centres in the south of the country.

Salvini visited Tripoli where he had talks on the migration crisis with his Libyan counterpart.

He said it would be a problem to have such reception centres in Italy as that would not stop the 'flows of death' across the Mediterranean.

Having them near Tripoli would also not be a good idea because that area would become 'like a funnel' for migrants.

Salvini thanked the Libyan coastguard after it picked up 948 African migrants on inflatable boats in several operations and also recovered 10 bodies on Sunday.

The western coast of Libya is the main departure point for thousands of migrants fleeing wars and poverty and trying to reach Europe but Salvini has vowed to stop the influx into Italy.

The number of crossings has dropped sharply since July 2017 when an armed group expelled human traffickers from a smuggling hub after an Italy-backed deal.

"The coastguards picked up illegal migrants in different groups. The first group is 97 on one inflatable boat and the second group is 361 migrants on two inflatable boats," Naval forces spokesman Ayoub Qassem told Reuters.

"The second group was taken to Khums town," Qassem said, adding that the two groups included 110 women and 70 children.

A witness watching the arrival of another coastguard ship at Tripoli's Abu Sittah naval base said a third group included 490 migrants picked up off Qarabulli town. Among them were 75 women and 20 children.

Earlier this month, Italy's interior minister Matteo Salvini vowed to no longer let charity ships offload rescued migrants in Italy, leaving one ship stranded at sea for several days with more than 600 migrants until Spain offered them safe harbour.

A standoff between Italy and Malta over another ship, the Lifeline, carrying 239 migrants, is continuing.