Tripoli, Jan 14: The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Tuesday said that 493 migrants were rescued off the coast of Libya in the past week.

Key Points
1. Migrants include 47 women and 17 children
2. 21,762 migrants rescued in 2024 so far
3. Libya remains critical transit point for African migrants
4. Ongoing migration challenges persist in Mediterranean region

Between January 5 and January 11, "493 migrants were intercepted and returned to Libya," the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a statement. The migrants include 47 women and 17 children. IOM also noted that three bodies of migrants were retrieved.

In 2024, a total of 21,762 migrants were rescued and returned to Libya, while 674 died and 1,015 went missing on the Central Mediterranean route. This includes those departing from Libya and other countries. Since the fall of late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the ensuing insecurity and chaos in Libya have prompted many migrants, primarily from Africa, to attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach European shores, according to reports from Xinhua news agency.

Last month, Libya deported a group of migrants to Niger by land, marking the first such deportation in years, as stated by the Libyan Illegal Migration Control Department. The department announced on its Facebook page that the deportation took place in the presence of Niger's charge d'affaires to Libya. The migrants were deported across the land border with Niger "for violating applicable Libyan laws" after completing necessary procedures. The statement also indicated that deportations of migrants from Libya to their countries of origin would continue.

Libya has become a significant transit point for migrants, mostly from Africa, seeking to reach Europe by sea following the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Gaddafi, which plunged the country into chaos. The IOM estimates that there are approximately 787,326 migrants in Libya, with 41 percent reporting they experienced shocks such as environmental, political, or economic hardships before migrating to Libya.