10,771 illegal migrants rescued in Libya

(MENAFN)Some 557 illegal migrants were saved from the Libyan coast and sent back to Libya in the last week, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The IOM further declared that a total amount of 10,771 illegal migrants, including women and children, were saved, as 188 were dead and 487 went missing off the Libyan coast on the Central Mediterranean route. Libya experienced insecurity and chaos since the collapse of the leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, making the North African country a preferred point of departure for illegal migrants who want to cross the Mediterranean Sea to European shores. Migrants who were saved end up inside overcrowded reception centers across Libya, regardless of repeated international calls to close those centers.