Libyan authorities detained 37 migrants, including 30 Sudanese refugees, during a security operation in the country’s east as they allegedly prepared to cross the Mediterranean toward Europe, local Sudanese media reported.
Libya’s Anti-Illegal Migration Department said the group was detained in the Umm al-Faris area, about 20 kilometres east of Al-Tamimi, during an operation carried out by its Derna branch.
Authorities said they found an inflatable boat suspected of being prepared for an irregular migration attempt, as well as a wooden vessel.
Preliminary information indicated the site was being used to prepare for transporting migrants by sea toward European shores, according to the department.
Security searches of the area and its surroundings led to the detention of around 30 Sudanese refugees and seven Egyptian migrants.
Hundreds of Sudanese refugees have attempted to travel from Libya toward Italy and Greece since war broke out in Sudan in April 2023, often undertaking dangerous Mediterranean crossings in search of safety and better living conditions.
In a separate incident last year, around 15 Sudanese refugees were reported killed and more than 20 others went missing after a boat carrying them sank while attempting to reach Greece from the Libyan coast near Derna. Sixty-three people were rescued.
