The International Organization for Migration (IOM), the United Nations migration agency, on Monday said that 11,891 illegal migrants have been rescued and returned to Libya so far in 2020, compared with 9,225 in 2019.
Norway says it will take 600 asylum-seekers recently evacuated to Rwanda from Libyan detention centers as the Scandinavian country wants to stop the sometimes deadly smuggling of migrants across the Mediterranean Sea.
When the European Union started funneling millions of euros into Libya to slow the tide of migrants crossing the Mediterranean, the money came with EU promises to improve detention centers notorious for abuse and fight human trafficking.
Italy has refused to allow a commercial vessel flying an Italian flag to bring ashore rescued migrants, sticking to a hardline policy on new arrivals as it presses European allies to share the burden of hosting an influx of displaced people.
Italy has said that Malta had refused to take in a Dutch-flagged ship carrying more than 200 rescued migrants and said the decision was "inhumane", ten days after shutting its own ports to a migrant vessel.
The United Nations Security Council sanctioned six accused leaders of human trafficking networks operating inside Libya on Friday -- marking the first time traffickers have been put on an international sanctions list.
Libyan navy on Thursday rescued 137 illegal immigrants on two rubber boats off the coast of the city of Zawiya, some 45 km west of the capital Tripoli.
Libya's UN-backed government on Thursday demanded an immediate cease-fire in the southern city of Sabha, where a number of civilians were killed and injured in violent tribal clashes.
The EU and the US are “indisputably” responsible for the crisis triggered by their intervention in Libya, says the French president, who has called for "military and police" action against human trafficking in the African state.
Amnesty International has accused European governments of "complicity" in the detention under horrific conditions of migrants in Libya, especially through their assistance to the Libyan coastguard implicated in people trafficking.
Dozens have been arrested in Brussels after one of several European rallies against modern slavery in Libya turned violent. The very government that the West helped form after the fall of Gaddafi is now facing pressure over its inability to tackle human rights abuses.
France has called for a UN Security Council meeting on the treatment of migrants in Libya and will seek sanctions if Libyan authorities do not take action, French Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian said on Wednesday.
The UN Human Rights chief on Tuesday expressed dismay at the sharp increase in the number of migrants held in horrific conditions at detention facilities in Libya.