TRIPOLI, Dec. 25 (Xinhua) -- Libya deported a group of migrants to Niger by land on Wednesday, the first such deportation in years, according to the Libyan Illegal Migration Control Department.

The department said in a statement on its Facebook page that the deportation took place in the presence of Niger's charge d'affaires to Libya.

The migrants were deported across the land border with Niger "for violating applicable Libyan laws" after completing necessary procedures, the statement said. It added that deportations of migrants from Libya to their countries of origin would continue.

Libya became a major transit point for migrants, mostly from Africa, seeking to reach Europe by sea after the 2011 overthrow of its late leader, Muammar Gaddafi, plunged the country into chaos.

The International Organization for Migration estimates that there are 787,326 migrants in Libya, with 41 percent of them reporting they experienced shocks such as environmental, political, or economic hardship before migrating to Libya. Enditem

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