According to a statement from the International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Monday, 163 illegal migrants were rescued off the coast of Libya in the last week.
The IOM said that from Nov. 19 to Nov. 25, 163 migrants were intercepted and returned to Libya.
Among those rescued were 20 women and 12 children, the IOM added, and they also retrieved the dead body of one illegal migrant.
IOM reported that so far this year, a total of 15,057 illegal migrants were rescued and returned to Libya, with 947 having died and 1,256 having gone missing on the central Mediterranean route off the Libyan coast.
In 2022, 24,684 people were rescued, with 529 dead and 848 missing.
Since the fall of former leader Muammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011, Libya has been in a state of chaos, and many migrants, primarily from Africa, have chosen it as a departure point to cross the Mediterranean and reach European shores.
