Benghazi, September 19 (Darfur24)
Libya’s anti-illegal immigration agency announced on Wednesday the arrest of 37 migrants, including 30 Sudanese refugees and seven Egyptians, during a security operation in the Umm al-Faris area, about 20 kilometers east of Al-Tamimi in eastern Libya.
The agency said in a statement posted on its official Facebook page, reviewed by Darfur24, that personnel from its Derna branch seized a rubber boat suspected of being used for irregular migration operations, along with a wooden boat.
It said preliminary information indicated that the site was being prepared to transport migrants by sea to Europe.
The agency added that security searches and tracking operations in the area and surrounding locations led to the arrest of about 30 Sudanese refugees and seven Egyptian migrants.
Hundreds of Sudanese refugees have attempted to cross from Libya to Italy and Greece since the outbreak of war in Sudan in April 2023, seeking safer and better living conditions.
In September last year, about 15 Sudanese refugees died, more than 20 went missing, and 63 were rescued after a boat carrying them sank while attempting to reach the Greek coast after departing from Derna.