Libyan authorities announced the voluntary deportation of 164 illegal Nigerian migrants from Libya to their country later on Thursday, as part of the voluntary repatriation program of the International Organization for Migration (IOM).

"An airplane took off from Mitiga international airport in Tripoli to the Nigerian capital Abuja's airport, carrying 164 illegal immigrants, including women and children," the Libyan anti-illegal immigration department said in a statement.

The statement gave no further details.

The IOM has deported more than 19,000 illegal immigrants from Libya to their home countries in 2017.

The voluntary repatriation program is carried out by the IOM, with an aim to arrange the return of illegal migrants stranded in Libya to their countries of origin.

Migrant shelters in Libya are crowded with thousands of migrants who have been rescued at sea or arrested by the Libyan security services.

Libya has become a preferred departure point for illegal migrants hoping to cross the Mediterranean Sea into Europe due to insecurity and chaos in the North African country following the 2011 uprising that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi.

Xinhua