Tripoli, Jun 1 (IANS): At least 495 illegal immigrants were rescued off the Libyan coast last week, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said.

"In the period of May 23-29, 495 migrants were rescued or intercepted at sea and returned to Libya," the IOM said on Monday.

So far in 2021, a total of 10,154 illegal immigrants have been rescued off the Libyan coast, while 173 died and 459 others went missing on the central Mediterranean route, Xinhua news agency quoted the UN agency as saying.

Libya has been plagued by insecurity and chaos since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, making it a preferred point of departure for illegal immigrants wanting to cross the Mediterranean Sea toward European shores.

Rescued migrants end up inside overcrowded reception centres across Libya, despite repeated international calls to close them.

The IOM Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) identified and located 348,372 internally displaced persons in Libya.