The United Nations Higher Commission for Refugees (UNHCR) on Sunday said it evacuated more than 4,000 refugees from Libya from 2018 to the end of January 2019.

The commission said it resettled or evacuated 4,080 refugees from Libya and provided 34,505 medical consultations during last year up until the end of last month.

It also said that 6,219 families have received cash assistance, and 1,311 shelter kits have been distributed to internally displaced Libyans.

UNHCR confirmed that 56,643 refugees and asylum seekers have been registered in Libya so far.

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

Shelters in Libya are crowded with thousands of illegal immigrants rescued at sea or arrested by the Libyan security services.

Xinhua