TRIPOLI, March 26 (NNN-Xinhua) — The International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported that it had intercepted 579 undocumented migrants in the Mediterranean Sea off the Libyan coast and returned them to Libya over the past week.
In a statement posted on X, the IOM said 45 women and 11 children were among those intercepted between March 17 and 23. The organization also confirmed the retrieval of a deceased migrant from the waters.
According to the IOM, a total of 3,311 migrants have been intercepted and returned to Libya this year, with 115 reported deaths and 253 individuals still missing off the Libyan coast.
The instability and turmoil prevailing in the country since the downfall of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 have prompted many migrants, mostly Africans, to opt for perilous journeys across the Mediterranean Sea toward European shores from Libya.
Libyan Interior Minister Emad al-Trabelsi recently announced plans to deport more than 20,000 migrants lacking legal status as part of the government’s efforts to address the issue of illegal migration this year.
TUNIS: Tunisia foiled 16 illegal immigration attempts to cross the Mediterranean to Italy on Monday and retrieved five bodies, according to a statement by the Tunisian National Guard.
The statement on its Facebook page said those immigration attempts were thwarted off the southeastern coast of Sfax province.
During the operations, 663 immigrants from sub-Saharan Africa were rescued from sinking boats, said the statement, without giving the total number of the immigrants who were trying to cross the Mediterranean toward Italy.
It added that 12 other wanted persons and two steel boats were seized in the operations.
In recent months, Tunisian security has intensified efforts to combat illegal immigration heading towards the Italian island of Lampedusa, expanding operations from the southeastern province of Sfax to other provinces.
Situated about 130 km from the Tunisian coastline, the island of Lampedusa is often chosen as the first stop for migrants from sub-Saharan Africa to make illegal sea voyages to Italy. — NNN-XINHUA
