The Libyan security arrested 300 illegal migrants in the western cities of Zuwara and Surman, a security official said Friday, Trend reports citing Xinhua.
"A total of 300 illegal migrants of different nationalities were arrested, 110 of whom were arrested at the beach as they were boarding boats to cross the sea, while the rest were arrested in different locations in the cities," Ashraf Ben-Isa, commander of the Security Directorates of the Western Region, told Xinhua.
Libya has been suffering insecurity and chaos since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, making the North African country a preferred point of departure for illegal migrants who want to cross the Mediterranean Sea to European shores.
In 2021, a total of 32,425 illegal migrants were rescued and returned to Libya, while 662 died and 891 others went missing off the Libyan coast on the Central Mediterranean route, according to the International Organization for Migration (IOM).