Experts say that as the violence in Libya has weakened this year, the number of potential migrants intercepted to Europe so far has doubled compared with the same period in 2020.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) stated that 20,257 people have been intercepted at sea and returned to Libya so far this year.
This North African country is still one of the main starting points for tens of thousands of immigrants, mainly from sub-Saharan Africa, hoping to try to cross the dangerous Mediterranean.
Most people try to reach the Italian coast about 300 kilometers away.
A Libyan navy official who asked not to be named also told AFP that compared with the same period last year, “the number of departures from January to July increased by 100%”, but did not provide figures.
Immigration law expert and lawyer Anwar al-Werfalli attributed the increase in the number of immigrants to “especially the end of the fighting in Libya”.
The 2011 uprising that led to the downfall and death of dictator Muammar Ghadafi plunged the country into chaos and years of infighting among the militias.
However, the October 2020 ceasefire promoted by the United Nations was universally respected, and a transitional government was established this year.
Werfalli said this creates some “stability, although relative, but encourages migrants to transit.”
According to the International Organization for Migration, the central Mediterranean border crossing between Libya and Italy or Malta is by far the deadliest in the world.
Human trafficker
The most recent tragedy occurred last month, when at least 57 immigrants drowned.
According to data from the UN refugee agency, more than 10,000 immigrants and refugees landed in Italy in the first four months of 2021, an increase of approximately 170% over the same period in 2020.
Werfalli said human smugglers have now stepped up their operations “to make up for the shortage during the months of lockdown during the Covid-19 pandemic.”
“Many immigrants who had to shelve their plans are now back on the road,” he said.
International relations professor Miloud el-Hajj told AFP that traffickers used the conflict in Libya to make the country a center for human smugglers.
He said that while the violent and collapsing country “facilitated the transit” to Europe, it also “frightened immigrants who feared abuse or kidnapping.”
Libya’s own coast guard has long faced allegations of abusing immigrants.
At the end of June, the German charity Sea-Watch released an aerial photo of a Libyan Coast Guard vessel that allegedly opened fire about two to three meters (yards) from the bow of a ship carrying about 50 migrants.
Abdel Rahman al-Mahmoudi, a former officer of the Libyan Navy, stated that the country “needs international assistance to deal with the steady flow of immigration”.
However, the European Union and Italy have been funding, training and equipping the Libyan Coast Guard for many years to prevent smugglers from sending migrants to Europe via temporary ships.
Those who were stopped at sea and returned to Libya were placed in detention centers, where they were struggling under harsh conditions.
International maritime law stipulates that those rescued at sea should disembark at a safe port, but the United Nations does not consider Libyan ports to fall into this category.
The Libyan authorities stated that they lack sufficient resources and personnel to deal with the problem.
