TRIPOLI, Oct. 19 (Xinhua) -- Libya's Anti-Illegal Immigration Department in the western city of Sabratha deported 116 Moroccan illegal immigrants, a security source told Xinhua on Thursday.
"The Anti-Illegal Immigration Department deported 116 illegal immigrants of Moroccan nationality through neighboring Tunisia, from which they will be repatriated to their home country," Basem Al-Gharabli, head of the Department, told Xinhua.
"There are 27 additional Moroccan migrants with no travel documents. The International Organization for Migration, in cooperation with the Moroccan embassy in Tunisia, is finalizing arrangements to grant them temporary travel documents to be deported in the next few days," Al-Gharabli added.
The Department revealed that more than 7,000 illegal immigrants have been deported, following a large scale operation for more than a week on illegal shelters of immigrants.
The coastal city of Sabratha, some 70 km west of the capital Tripoli, is one of the largest illegal migrants smuggling destinations in Libya and Africa, according to international organizations.
Smugglers take advantage of the insecurity and chaos in Libya to send thousands of migrants cross the Mediterranean towards European shores.
Migrants who are rescued at sea by Libyan navy are detained in reception centers with poor living conditions.
