A reported 629 migrants were taken back to Libya last week, between May 15 and May 21, while they were trying to reach Italy, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said in a tweet providing weekly figures.
The total number of people this year who were rescued or intercepted off Libya’s coast were 6,340, including the latest figures, compared to 32,425 over all of 2021.
A reported 129 people drowned this year as of May 21 while the number of those missing was 459 compared to the 662 bodies retrieved and the 891 people whose traces were lost at sea last year, according to a graphic published by IOM.