Libya's Coast Guard had rescued a total of 22,803 refugees and migrants since the beginning of this year, says the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR).

Sea departures from Libya continue to increase, with 6,989 cases recorded in July 2021 – a 96 percent increase compared to the same period in 2020, a recent UNHCR report shows.

The report indicated that the UNHCR had registered some 8,000 refugees and asylum-seekers in Libya during the past eight months.

It noted that 127 refugees and asylum-seekers were released from detention centers, while 345 evacuated from Libya during the same period.

At another level, the UNHCR confirmed that it had provided, in cooperation with its partners, hygiene kits to some 700 Tawerghan internally displaced persons (IDPs) in Benghazi, Core Relief Items to 24,973 IDPs, and cash assistance to 763 IDPs, during the reporting period.