The General Administration of Security Operations announced it intercepted 94 migrants, on the beaches of Garabulli, before they made their way across the Mediterranean to Europe.

According to a statement, this came after information was received by the investigation office of its Special Tasks Department that there was a migrant smuggling operation ongoing on the beaches of Qarabuli.

The 94 individuals are nationals of several African countries and included 45 women and 9 children.

Since the start of 2022, nearly 13,000 migrants have been intercepted and returned to Libya while attempting to cross the Mediterranean, according to the International Organization for Migration.

32,450 people were officially intercepted by the Libyan authorities in 2021.