Libya Reports Over 37,000 Voluntary Migrant Returns in 2025
Libya has returned more than 37,000 irregular migrants to their countries of origin in 2025 under the Voluntary Return Programme, as part of ongoing efforts to control irregular migration flows, according to the Illegal Migration Control Department, Libya Review reported on January 6th.
The statement followed a high-level meeting between Interior Minister Issam Abu Zriba and the Head of the Illegal Migration Control Department, Salah Al Khafifi, to review the department’s 2025 annual report. The report detailed the number of irregular migrants detained across Libya, and deportations carried out by land and air. Authorities said the operations complied with legal and humanitarian standards.
The meeting also reviewed the department’s 2026 operational plan, including deportation mechanisms. Authorities stressed the importance of human rights during operations, given Libya’s complex security and logistical challenges as a key transit country. According to official figures, Libya hosted 19 per cent more migrants in 2025 than in 2024.
Libya has dealt with rising migration pressures for years, affecting security, the economy, and public services. In response, authorities have increased efforts to control irregular migration. In 2025, Libyan authorities began enforcing migrant return programs, and the Anti-Illegal Migration Authority has expanded operations across southern regions. Most irregular migrants enter the country through the southern border, many fleeing war, poverty or persecution.
Libya and Sudan agreed to coordinate the voluntary return of 467,000 Sudanese asylum seekers who entered the country after Sudan’s civil war erupted in April 2023.
Most recently, Libyan border authorities detained 41 migrants during a coordinated security operation targeting irregular migration routes and unlawful sheltering activities. Those detained were found in areas identified as key transit and concealment points.
The developments come amid renewed cross-border activity with commercial trade recommencing along the desert triangle border route that links Sudan, Libya, and Egypt. Small commercial vehicles have started to transport various supplies from Sudanese territory towards the Libyan city of Kufra, a key logistical hub and one of Libya’s main host cities for Sudanese refugees.
Libya Review, Maghrebi.org
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