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Libyan navy rescues 195 illegal immigrants off western coast

Xinhua,December 15, 2017 Adjust font size:

TRIPOLI, Dec. 15 (Xinhua) -- Libyan navy on Friday rescued 195 illegal immigrants off the western coast, as they were on their way to European shores.

According to a statement released by the navy, the rescued immigrants included 21 women and two children from different African nationalities.

The rescue operation was done off the coast of the western town of Garrabulli, a hotspot of migrant smuggling in the North African nation.

Libya's anti-illegal immigration department said that the navy on Wednesday rescued 114 immigrants off Garrabulli coast, revealing that there are "contacts currently with their embassies to deport them voluntarily to their countries of origins by air through the Tripoli airport, in cooperation with the international organization for migration."

Libya has become a preferred departure point for illegal immigrants hoping to cross the Mediterranean into Europe, because of insecurity and chaos in the North African country following the 2011 uprising that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi. Enditem

 

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