Some 200 illegal migrants returned to Libya
May 15, 2021
Tripoli [Libya], May 15 (ANI/Xinhua): The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Friday said that some 200 illegal migrants have been returned to Libya.
"Some 200 migrants were returned to Libya by the coast guard today," the IOM tweeted.
"More than 8,000 people have been intercepted or rescued and returned to shore so far this year," the IOM said, adding that most of the migrants end up in arbitrary detention.
The state of insecurity and chaos in Libya following the fall of its long-time leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 has encouraged thousands of migrants to cross the Mediterranean Sea towards European shores.
Rescued migrants end up inside overcrowded reception centers across Libya, despite repeated international calls to close those centers.
According to the IOM and the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, migrants and refugees in Libya continue to be subjected to arbitrary detention, ill-treatment, exploitation and violence, conditions that push them to take risky journeys with fatal consequences, especially sea crossings. (ANI/Xinhua)
