TRIPOLI, Nov. 6 (Xinhua) -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Wednesday that 166 migrants had recently been deported from Libya to Nigeria, their home country.
"This week, IOM facilitated the safe, voluntary humanitarian return of 166 migrants from Sabha, Libya, to Lagos, Nigeria, with support from the delegation of the European Union to Libya," IOM Libya said in a statement on the social media platform X.
Among the migrants were five families and four unaccompanied and separated children, the UN agency said, noting that it "remains committed to ensuring safe and dignified migration for all."
The migrants were deported through IOM's Voluntary Humanitarian Return program, under which services are designed to provide tailored support to stranded and vulnerable migrants who request assistance to return to their countries of origin.
Since the fall of late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the ensuing insecurity and chaos in Libya have prompted continuous flocks of migrants, primarily from Africa, to attempt the treacherous journey across the Mediterranean Sea towards European shores.
So far this year, a total of 19,295 migrants have been intercepted and returned, while 568 migrants died and 783 others went missing off the Libyan coast, the IOM said earlier.
