TRIPOLI, Sept. 30 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said Thursday that 91 illegal migrants were rescued off Libya's western coast.
According to a UNHCR statement, 91 persons, many from Ethiopia and Eritrea, were brought to Tripoli on Wednesday night after spending two days at sea on a rubber boat, with few supplies.
"Survivors included 12 women and four children," the statement said, adding that the UNHCR, and its medical partner, International Rescue Committee, had provided relief items and medical aids.
The UN agency also called for increasing safe and legal pathways from Libya for people in need of protection.
So far in 2021, more than 25,285 illegal migrants, including women and children, have been rescued, while hundreds others died and went missing off the Libyan coast on the Central Mediterranean route, according to the International Organization for Migration.
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 illegal migrants who want to cross the Mediterranean Sea to European shores.
Rescued migrants end up inside overcrowded reception centers across Libya, despite repeated international calls to close those centers. Enditem
