TRIPOLI (XINHUA) – The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Monday that 557 illegal migrants were rescued off the Libyan coast and returned to Libya in the past week.
In 2021, a total of 10,771 illegal migrants, including women and children, have been rescued, while 188 died and 487 went missing off the Libyan coast on the Central Mediterranean route, according to the IOM.
Libya has been suffering insecurity and chaos since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, making the North African country a preferred point of departure for illegal migrants who want to cross the Mediterranean Sea to European shores.
Rescued migrants end up inside overcrowded reception centres across Libya, despite repeated international calls to close those centres.
