A recent statistic released by the Italian Ministry of Interior reported that 2,614 irregular migrants arrived in Italy from the Libyan shores during 2024.
According to the Italian news agency, NOVA, data indicates a 46.9% decrease in the number of irregular migrants to Italy by sea during the year 2024, with 4,028 arrivals compared to 7,857 during the same period last year.
The number of arrivals to Italian shores from Tunisia decreased to 1,172 migrants since the beginning of 2024 until February 15, compared to 4,236 during the same period last year, a decrease of 72.3%.
Meanwhile, the number of arrivals from Libya to Italy increased to 2,614 compared to 2,822 migrants, representing a 7.9% increase.
According to NOVA, departure operations from Libya mainly included the Tripoli region, especially the localities of Zuwara, Sabratha, and Zawiya, while arrivals from Benghazi decreased.
In addition to over 4,000 migrants, more than a thousand individuals were intercepted at sea and returned to Libyan territory, according to the International Organisation for Migration (IOM).
On Thursday, IOM raised concerns over the escalating number of migrants being intercepted and forcibly returned to Libya, with figures reaching 1,004 individuals since the beginning of 2024, including 68 women and 25 children just in the last week.
In a statement, the United Nations (UN)-affiliated organisation added that this distressing trend is part of a broader crisis that saw over 17,190 migrants returned in 2023, with the grim addition of 962 fatalities and 1,536 missing persons.
Considering these developments, the IOM urgently calls for international collaboration to halt the hazardous migration routes to Europe and devise sustainable solutions to this escalating humanitarian dilemma. The organisation stresses the critical need for cooperation among nations of origin, transit, and destination to ensure the protection of migrants and to introduce viable, lawful alternatives to irregular migration.
