TRIPOLI, March 18 (Xinhua) -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Monday said 817 migrants were rescued off the coast of Libya in the past week.

"From 10 to 16 March 2024, 817 migrants were intercepted and returned to Libya," the IOM said in a statement.

Among the rescued migrants were 82 women and 30 children, the statement said.

So far this year, a total of 2,738 migrants have been rescued, with 95 fatalities and 228 individuals still missing, the IOM added.

Many undocumented migrants, mostly from Africa, choose to cross the Mediterranean Sea to European shores from Libya, which has been suffering chaos since 2011 when the late former leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown.

Libyan Interior Minister Emad al-Tarabelsi recently revealed that the ministry plans to repatriate over 20,000 illegal migrants within the year. Enditem

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