The IOM reported yesterday in its ‘‘Libya Weekly Maritime Update’’ that, from 19 to 25 October 2025, 1,273 migrants were intercepted and returned to Libya on what it calls the Central Mediterranean Route.
This brings the total so far in 2025 to 22,509 migrants intercepted and returned to Libya. This is already higher than the total 2024 figure. Of this total, 19,493 were men, 1,976 were women and 832 were children. It was not possible to identify the gender of 208. The IOM also reported that there were 472 deaths and 489 missing in 2025.
For the whole of 2024, the IOM reported that 21,762 migrants were intercepted and returned to Libya. There were 665 deaths and 1,034 missing in the year.
For 2023, the IOM reported that 17,190 migrants were intercepted and returned to Libya. There were also 962 deaths and 1,536 reported missing.
The IOM does not intercept migrants at sea. This is done by the Libyan authorities. It says it does not consider Libya to be a safe port for migrants.
