The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Sunday said 120 irregular migrants were intercepted at sea and returned to Libya.
“Earlier today, some 120 persons were rescued/intercepted by the Libyan Coast Guards in two disembarkation operations,” UNHCR tweeted.
“The individuals were returned to the Tripoli Naval Base where UNHCR and its medical partner IRC provided urgent humanitarian assistance,” it said.
Libya has been suffering insecurity and chaos since the fall of its leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, making the North African country a preferred point of departure for migrants who want to cross the Mediterranean Sea to European shores.
So far this year, more than 20,000 irregular migrants, including women and children, have been intercepted, while hundreds of others have died or gone missing off the Libyan coast on the Central Mediterranean route, according to the International Organization for Migration.
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