Libyan Illegal Migration Control Department on Wednesday said Libya deported 160 Bangladeshi migrants voluntarily to their home country.

An officer with the department, Khalid al-Abyad, told Xinhua that “today, we deported 160 illegal migrants of Bangladeshi nationality to their country through a flight from Tripoli Mitiga International Airport to Dhaka, Bangladesh.”

Mr Al-Abyad confirmed that work to advance the voluntary departure of migrants will continue in the future.

He said that the move followed the department’s deportation of a group of Egyptian migrants to their home country via the land port on Tuesday.

The insecurity and chaos in the country since the fall of its late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 has led many migrants, mostly Africans, to choose to cross the Mediterranean Sea to European shores from Libya.

A total of 4,767 migrants were intercepted and returned to Libya this year alone.

According to the International Organisation for Migration, of the total number, 82 migrants died, and 58 others went missing on the central Mediterranean route.

Earlier, Libyan Interior Minister Emad al-Tarabelsi stressed the importance of UN support for the voluntary departure of migrants from Libya to their home countries.

Mr Al-Tarabelsi said that Libya may resort to “forced deportation of illegal migrants” if the international community fails to support their voluntary return to their countries of origin. 

(Xinhua/NAN)