Seven illegal immigrants drown off Libyan coast – IOM

The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday that seven illegal immigrants drowned off the Libyan coast over the past week.

“In the period of 17-23 November, the bodies of seven immigrants washed up on shore and no survivors returned to Libya,” IOM said.

The IOM also said that 11,765 illegal immigrants had been rescued and returned to Libya so far in 2020, compared with 9,225 in 2019.

The organisation also revealed that a total of 312 illegal immigrants died and 414 others went missing on the Central Mediterranean route so far this year, compared with 270 deaths and 992 missing immigrants last year.

Following the ouster and killing of its leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has been mired in a state of insecurity and chaos that has prompted thousands of illegal immigrants to cross the Mediterranean Sea toward Europe from the country.

Thousands of illegal immigrants, who were either rescued at sea or arrested by the authorities, remain detained inside overcrowded detention centres in Libya, in spite of repeated international calls to close those centres.

(Xinhua/NAN)