Illegal immigrants in Libya reach 700,000: official

TRIPOLI, Dec. 21 (Xinhua) -- The number of illegal immigrants in Libya currently reaches 700,000, an immigration official told Xinhua on Thursday.

"Libya this year deported about 13,000 immigrants of different nationalities, in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration(IOM)," Milad Saadi, media adviser of Tripoli's anti-illegal immigration department.

In 2006, the IOM and the Libyan authorities launched a humanitarian program to repatriate immigrants stranded in Libyan shelters to their own countries.

"Most Arab and African countries are cooperating with the department on the deportation of their citizens," Saadi said.

"Morocco has recently started cooperating with the department through an official delegation from Rabat. 265 Moroccan migrants will be repatriated over the weekend," Saadi added.

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