Migrants wait at the Deportation Office of the Libyan Illegal Immigration Control Department in Tripolinintendoplayingcards, Libyanintendoplayingcards, on June 25, 2024. A total of 174 migrants were deported from Libya to Nigeria on Tuesday with the assistance of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), according to a Libyan official. (Photo by Hamza Turkia/Xinhua)

TRIPOLI, June 25 (Xinhua) -- A total of 174 migrants were deported from Libya to Nigeria on Tuesday with the assistance of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), according to a Libyan official.

Muhammad Baraida, an assistant for security affairs of the Libyan Illegal Immigration Control Department, told Xinhua that the repatriated migrants were mostly women "who tested positive for infectious and chronic diseases."

The migrants were deported through IOM's Voluntary Humanitarian Return (VHR) program, which facilitates the return of migrants stranded in Libya to their countries of origin.

Baraida added that the deportation was carried out in coordination with the Nigerian embassy in Libya, noting that Libya has been collaborating with IOM to facilitate the voluntary repatriation of migrants in the country.

Ever since the downfall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, Libya has become a preferred point of departure for some African migrants who attempt to cross the Mediterranean Sea to reach European shores.

According to IOM, the VHR program has helped more than 80,000 migrants return to their home countries voluntarily from Libya since 2015.■

Migrants line up to get on a bus outside the Deportation Office of the Libyan Illegal Immigration Control Department in Tripoli, Libya, on June 25, 2024. A total of 174 migrants were deported from Libya to Nigeria on Tuesday with the assistance of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), according to a Libyan official. (Photo by Hamza Turkia/Xinhua)

Migrants leave the Deportation Office of the Libyan Illegal Immigration Control Department in Tripoli, Libya, on June 25, 2024. A total of 174 migrants were deported from Libya to Nigeria on Tuesday with the assistance of the International Organization for Migration (IOM), according to a Libyan official. (Photo by Hamza Turkia/Xinhua)