The International Organization for Migration found that Libya hosts more than 700,000 migrants and refugees of around 44 different nationalities.
According to the Immigration Service, the number of 706,062 migrants represents an increase compared to the previous identification of November and December 2022, when 694,398 migrants were counted.
The majority of migrants in Libya are from Niger (24 percent), followed by Egypt (23 percent), Sudan (19), Chad (12) and Nigeria (4), with 53 percent of all migrants living in the west. from the north African country.
Libya has more than 4,300 kilometers of land borders with six countries, with the IOM identifying the main routes through which migrants and refugees enter the North African country.
A large part of the migrant population uses the central Mediterranean route to reach Europe. A total of 14,948 arrived on Italian shores in the months that the IOM submitted its last report.
Libya is seen by NGOs as an “unsafe country” for migrants and refugees, which is why they are calling for not returning those who are intercepted at sea, such as the at least 24,000 people who were returned against their will in 2022 and more than 5,000 this year, according to the organizations.
(With information from Telesur)