Tripoli, Apr 12 (IANS): Libya has deported 236 illegal immigrants of African nationalities to their countries of origin, authorities said.

"Based on instructions of the General Command (of the army) and the Interior Ministry, a total of 236 illegal immigrants were departed to their countries in Sudan, Chad, Nigeria, Ghana, Mali, Ethiopia and Somalia," the Anti-illegal Immigration Department said in a statement on Saturday.

The deported immigrants include six women and one child, Xinhua news agency reported.

Thousands of illegal immigrants, mostly Africans, choose to cross the Mediterranean Sea towards Europe from Libya as the country has been mired in insecurity and chaos ever since the fall of its former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has said repeatedly that Libya is not a safe port for the disembarkation of immigrants due to the deteriorating security situation in the country.

Libya has more than 650,000 illegal immigrants with 6,000 of them, including women and children, being held in detention centers, according to the IOM.