A Libyan coast guard patrol boat on Wednesday rescued 19 illegal migrants of various African nationalities off the Libyan coast after their rubber dinghy in which they were sailing sank on its way to the European coast.
A statement from the Libyan Navy said the rescued migrants were disembarked at the Tripoli naval base and handed over to the Anti-illegal Immigration Body for humanitarian care and safe repatriation procedures to their countries.
As both a destination and transit country, Libya has been confronted in recent years with waves of illegal migrants exploited by trafficking networks taking advantage of the insecurity in the country.
Since early 2021, some 14,338 illegal migrants have been rescued or intercepted and returned to Libya, including 12,818 men and 356 women, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM), which said that 194 migrants have died and 492 are missing.
The IOM said that last year, 11,891 migrants were returned to Libya, 381 died and 597 went missing.
