The International Organization for Migration (IOM) facilitated the voluntary return of 133 migrants from Libya to Pakistan last week, as part of its Voluntary Humanitarian Return Program. The migrants were flown from Benghazi to Islamabad, according to an IOM Libya statement.
Libya’s Interior Minister, Emad al-Tarabelsi, has announced plans to repatriate over 20,000 migrants in the country illegally within the year.
This announcement comes in the wake of the IOM’s discovery of at least 65 migrant bodies in a mass grave in southwestern Libya, believed to have died during smuggling operations. The discovery was made in the Wadi Al-Jahriya, Shuwairif area, about 421 kilometers south of Tripoli.
Drone footage released by the Ministry of Interior’s Criminal Investigation Department showed the area marked with white markers and yellow tape. After DNA sampling, the bodies were buried as directed by the Chief Prosecutor of Gharyan Primary Court.
The IOM has recorded at least 3,129 migrant deaths and disappearances in the Mediterranean Sea in 2023, highlighting it as the “most deadly migration route.” The organization emphasizes the need for legal migration pathways to prevent such tragedies and calls for improved regional cooperation to safeguard migrants.
As of mid-2023, Libya is home to approximately 704,369 migrants from over 43 nationalities, as reported by the IOM, highlighting the extensive migrant presence in the country.
