TRIPOLI, June 16 (Xinhua) -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Monday said that 635 migrants were intercepted at sea off the coast of Libya in the past week while attempting to reach Europe.
The migrants include 32 women and 20 children, while five bodies of migrants were recovered off the Libyan shore, the IOM said.
It noted that the agency has provided immediate emergency assistance, including lifesaving medical care, to the migrants following the rescue.
So far this year, a total of 10,634 migrants, including women and children, were intercepted at sea and brought back to Libya, while 249 migrants died at sea and 226 others went missing on the Central Mediterranean route, including those departing from Libya and other countries, the IOM said.
Since the fall of late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, the ensuing insecurity and chaos in Libya have prompted many migrants, primarily from Africa, to attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach European shores.
The intercepted migrants usually end up inside overcrowded reception centers across Libya, despite repeated international calls to close those centers and release the migrants.
