TRIPOLI, Oct. 13 (Xinhua) -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Sunday said that there are nearly 6,000 immigrants held in detention centers in Libya.
"More than 650,000 immigrants are in Libya and about 6,000 of them are held in detention centers, including women and children," IOM tweeted.
Shelters in Libya are crowded with thousands of immigrants either rescued from the sea or arrested by the Libyan security forces, despite international calls to close those centers.
The IOM added that almost 300,000 people have been internally displaced in Libya because of the armed conflict in different parts of the country.
Libya has been struggling to make a democratic transition amid insecurity and chaos ever since the fall of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.
Thousands of illegal immigrants, mostly Africans, choose to cross the Mediterranean Sea towards Europe from Libya.
