Saturday August 14, 2021

FILE PHOTO: Migrants are seen at a reception center in Tripoli, Libya, on February 22, 2018. © Hamza Turkia © Global Look Press

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Friday that it's launching a project aimed at strengthening consular support for migrants stranded in Libya.

      Libya has been suffering insecurity and chaos since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, making the North African country a preferred point of departure for migrants seeking to cross the Mediterranean Sea to European shores.

Rescued migrants end up inside overcrowded reception centers across Libya.

    More than 20,000 illegal migrants have been rescued at sea this year, while hundreds of others have died or gone missing off the Libyan coast on the Central Mediterranean route, according to the IOM.