Libya deports more than 200 migrants

Libya deports more than 200 migrants

Libya deported more than 200 migrants to their countries of origin Wednesday (April 20), officials said, as the war-torn country grapples with curbing illegal migration across its borders by mainly African nationals hoping to reach Europe’s shores.

More than 16,000 people have made the crossing from North Africa to Italy in the first three months of 2016, some 6,000 more than in the same period last year.

The number of new arrivals is expected to climb further in coming months as warmer, more stable weather kicks in, making it easier for people traffickers to put the boats to sea.

“We are deporting 204 migrants of various African nationalities, including Mali, Niger, from Gambia, Eritrea and Ivory Coast,” said Hosni Jumaa Ayyad, a spokesman for Libya’s illegal migration task force.

“Of course the deportations are done in cooperation with their embassies in Tripoli,” he added.

The deportation came as the United Nations refugee agency announced the possible drowning of up to 500 migrants in the Mediterranean last week.

Hundreds of thousands of migrants have reached Italy in recent years, looking for a better life in the West.

“I came here in search of money,” said Omar, one of the migrants being deported Wednesday.

Caught in a conflict between two rival governments and various armed factions, Libya has become a major route for traffickers taking advantage of the chaos to transport people from the North African coast to Europe, fuelling the continent’s worst migration crisis since World War Two.

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