The deterioration in the security environment in Libya, starting with the 2011 conflict and followed by a further deterioration in 2014, has led to increasing numbers of migrants smuggled or trafficked through Libya into Europe. The breakdown in the justice system has led to a state of impunity, in which armed groups, criminal gangs, smugglers and traffickers control the movement of migrants through the country. Bilateral agreements with Chad, Sudan, Algeria, and Tunisia in 2012 and with Egypt in 2013 on security and border controls have not apparently led to systematic cooperation and have had little impact on the flow of migrants and the operation of criminal networks to smuggle and traffic migrants across land borders.13 While overall numbers of migrants in Libya are not known, it is estimated that the majority are irregular, arriving in particular from Egypt, Chad and Nigeria. 14 The Displacement Tracking Matrix of IOM tracked 276,957 migrants in the month of August 2016.15 This figure includes migrants as well as possible refugees and asylum seekers. As at the time of writing UNHCR had registered approximately 38,000 refugees and asylum-seekers, half of whom are from Syria. It is estimated that the total number of migrants, refugees, and asylum seekers currently present in Libya is much higher than these figures. According to IOM, between 1 January and 22 November 2016, 168,542 migrants reached Italy from North Africa, most from Libya, compared to 144,205 migrants for a similar period in 2015. From 1 January to 22 November 2016, 4,164 migrants who travelled through Libya are known to have died at sea along the central Mediterranean Sea route, compared to 3,565 for a similar period along the Central, Eastern and Western Mediterranean Sea routes. 16 The number of migrants who have died during land journeys while travelling to and through Libya is unknown, although the numbers are thought to be significant. In June 2015, the European Union launched Operation Sophia in the Mediterranean Sea off the coast of Libya. The core mandate of the operation is to “undertake systematic efforts to identify, capture and dispose of vessels and enabling assets used or suspected of being used by migrant smugglers or traffickers, in order to contribute to wider EU efforts to disrupt the business model of human smuggling and trafficking networks in the Southern Central Mediterranean and prevent the further loss of life at sea”.17 Since the operation’s inception to November 2016, 101 suspected smugglers and traffickers have been prosecuted by the Italian authorities and 344 boats removed from criminal organization availability.18 By 27 October 2016 the Operation had also rescued 13 Assessment of Priorities for the Development of Libya’s Migration Policies: A Strategic Vision, Final report to IOM by Eurasylum Ltd. 2014, p. 41 14 Ibid. p. 6 15 See IOM DTM Libya at www.globaldtm.info/libya/ 16 See IOM Missing Migrants Project for further information at https://missingmigrants.iom.int/ 17 See European Union Naval Force - Mediterranean Operation Sophia, Fact Sheet, 30 November 2016, http://eeas.europa.eu/csdp/missions-and-operations/eunavfor-med/pdf/factsheet_eunavfor_med_en.pdf 18 See “Farewell to the French ship Enseigne de vaisseau Jacoubet”, press release, 9 November 2016, http://eeas.europa.eu/csdp/missions-and-operations/eunavfor-med/news/20161109_en.htm 6