UN refugee agency resettles 32 refugees from Libya to Canada, Norway

TRIPOLI, Oct. 18 (Xinhua) -- The UN refugee agency said on Tuesday that 32 refugees, including children, have left Libya this week to be resettled in Canada and Norway.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) said in a statement that it would continue to "urge states to provide more safe, legal pathways, to help other vulnerable refugees and asylum seekers find safety out of Libya."

Many illegal immigrants choose to cross the Mediterranean Sea to European shores from Libya, which has been suffering political instability and chaos ever since the fall of the late leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011.

More than 16,600 illegal immigrants have been rescued at sea and returned to Libya so far this year, according to the figures released by the International Organization for Migration on Oct. 4.