270 illegal immigrants rescued off Libyan coast: IOM

Source: Xinhua| 2020-06-26 21:23:16|Editor: huaxia

TRIPOLI, June 26 (Xinhua) -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Friday that 270 illegal immigrants, including women and children, were rescued off the Libyan coast and returned to the war-torn Libya.

"IOM staff are now at the disembarkation point in Tripoli to provide emergency assistance to 270 migrants returned to shore by the Libyan coast guard," IOM tweeted.

The rescued immigrants include 13 women and 23 children, the organization said, adding that "Libya is not a port of safety" for immigrants.

On Thursday, the IOM said that 71 illegal immigrants, including women and children, were rescued and returned to Libya.

Thousands of illegal immigrants, mostly Africans, choose to cross the Mediterranean sea toward Europe from Libya, due to the state of chaos and insecurity in the country even since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011.

IOM had been running the Voluntary Humanitarian Return program that arranges the return of illegal immigrants stranded in Libya back to their countries of origin, before the Libyan authorities closed all the country's borders as a precautionary measure against COVID-19.

"While the Libyan airspace is still closed under COVID-19 restrictions, over 1,000 stranded immigrants in Libya have so far registered with IOM's Voluntary Humanitarian Return to go back home and reunite with their families," IOM said Thursday.

Thousands of illegal immigrants in Libya, who are either rescued from the sea or arrested by the authorities, remain detained in overcrowded shelters, despite international calls to close those centers. Enditem

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