Over a thousand undocumented migrants were returned to Libya in the first seven days of this year after being intercepted in the Mediterranean Sea while trying to reach Europe, a UN agency reported.

Tripoli.- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) specified in a statement that 1,067 people were detained in the first week of 2023.

According to the IOM, almost 24,700 were intercepted in 2022, 529 died and 848 disappeared on the Central Mediterranean route.

The figures for 2021 were 32,425, 662, and 891 respectively, according to data from the institution.

In recent years, Libya has become a springboard for hundreds of thousands of Africans trying to reach Europe.

According to various NGOs and the UN, migrants, especially children and women, suffer systematic sexual violence, exploitation, abuse, and detention along the route from Africa to Europe. (PL)