IOM Says 430 Migrants Intercepted, Returned to Libya in 7 Days

 The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Wednesday that 430 migrants, including 10 women and 20 children, were intercepted and returned to Libya in the week ending Oct. 28.

The IOM also said the body of one dead migrant was retrieved in the past week.

So far this year, 13,065 migrants have been rescued and returned to Libya, while 933 have died and 1,233 have gone missing on the Central Mediterranean route off the Libyan coast, the IOM said.

In 2022, 24,684 migrants were rescued and returned to Libya, 529 died and 848 went missing on the same route, according to the IOM.

Since the fall of late leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011, insecurity and chaos have made Libya a popular transit point for migrants, mostly Africans, attempting to cross the Mediterranean Sea to European shores.