Over 42,000 refugees, asylum-seekers in Libya

According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), there are now 42,210 registered refugees and asylum seekers in Libya.

According to UNHCR, the Libyan Coast Guard has rescued 20,799 refugees and immigrants at sea and returned them to Libya so far in 2021.

“Compared to the same month last year, the number of persons returned to Libya in July 2021 has more than tripled,” UNHCR noted. “This may be linked to periodic loosening of movement restrictions for COVID-19, as well as calmer sea conditions.”

Since the assassination of late Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the North African country has become a favorite point of departure for illegal migrants seeking to cross the Mediterranean Sea to European ports.

Despite repeated international requests to dismantle the institutions, rescued migrants wind up in congested reception centers across Libya. Many Libyans have been forced to evacuate their homes due to years of violent war in the country. According to the UNHCR, there are presently 223,949 Libyans who are internally displaced.