Doctors Without Borders (MSF) has released a report stating that the European Union (EU) has provided Libya with 59 million euros over the past years to manage the immigration file, provide training, and deliver boats and other equipment.
However, the organization added that the EU gradually abandoned rescuing irregular migrants in the central Mediterranean and intensified deterrence measures to prevent them from reaching Europe and deliberately return them to Libya. MSF confirmed that since 2017, in coordination with the EU, the Libyan Coast Guard has intercepted more than 120,000 migrants and returned them illegally to Libya. The organization has raised concerns about the fate of people trapped in Libya or returned to the country.
According to the Italian Ministry of the Interior, 150,000 migrants arrived in Italy from January to November 20, 2023. More than 47,000 of the total migrants arrived from Libya, 17,000 of them deported from the eastern region. The Italian Nova Agency reported that the number of migrants intercepted in the Mediterranean and returned to Libya was around fourteen thousand from the beginning of the year until November 10, 2023.
