TRIPOLI, April 1 (Xinhua) -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on Monday said that 480 migrants were rescued off the coast of Libya in the past week.

"From 24 to 30 March 2024, 480 migrants were intercepted and returned to Libya," IOM said in a statement.

The rescued migrants include 26 women and five children, IOM said, adding that two dead bodies of the migrants were retrieved.

So far this year, a total of 3,791 migrants have been rescued, while 120 died and 253 others went missing off the Libyan coast.

Many undocumented migrants, mostly from Africa, choose to cross the Mediterranean 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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