The Lebanese Army announced Thursday in a brief statement that it had foiled an illegal migration attempt involving eleven migrants, without providing specifics on their nationality, off the coast of Mina in North Lebanon. In this context, the troops seized two boats intended for the operation.

"A patrol of the Directorate of Intelligence, deployed on the Mina coast, foiled an attempt to smuggle eleven migrants by sea and seized two boats intended for use during the operation," the statement said. An investigation was opened under the supervision of the competent judicial authorities.

Migrants seeking to take the dangerous journey of leaving Lebanon by boat generally seek to reach the island of Cyprus. Most are Syrians fleeing the consequences of the civil war under the Assad dictatorship in Syria or the economic crisis that has hit Lebanon since 2019. This crisis has also driven Lebanese and Palestinians in Lebanon to leave the country illegally.

The army regularly announces that it foiled illegal migration attempts off the coast of North Lebanon. Some of these attempts have resulted in the migrants dying at sea.