TRIPOLI, Dec. 20 (Xinhua) -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Friday that it deported 172 Sudanese illegal immigrants voluntarily from Libya to their country.
"Last night, 172 Sudanese migrants onboard a charter flight from Tripoli flying to Khartoum," IOM tweeted.
"In 2019, IOM's Voluntary Humanitarian Return programme has so far assisted return of more than 9,600 stranded migrants in Libya," IOM said.
The IOM is running a voluntary return program with an aim to arrange the return of illegal immigrants stranded in Libya to their countries of origin.
Migrant shelters in Libya are crowded with thousands of migrants rescued at sea or arrested by Libyan security services.
Libya has become a preferred point of departure for illegal immigrants hoping to cross the Mediterranean Sea into Europe because of insecurity and chaos in the North African country following the 2011 uprising that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi.
