TRIPOLI, Nov 27 (Reuters) - Tens of thousands of illegal migrants are stranded in Libya without the means to return home and the flow of aid to help them is running dry, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday.

The IOM needs 3 million euros ($4.46 million) for next year alone to help 2,000 migrants return to their countries and find work, the world body said in a statement. Since last year, 1,300 migrants have benefited from the programme.

"With a dramatic increase in the number of requests for help being made by migrants stranded in Libya, IOM will have to suspend its programme unless additional funding can be found," it said.

Such aid is central to a commitment made by European Union governments last year to ensure the extra millions it spends to keep migrants out of Europe should be matched by efforts to help them find an alternative livelihood.

Migrant support groups say the promised aid is still sorely lacking.

Fewer sub-Saharans are now hiding illegally in Morocco -- once the favoured illegal route to Europe -- but the migrants say the reason is a permanent crack-down by local security forces rather than brighter prospects in their home countries.

Libya has hardened its stance towards migrants it once welcomed for their manual skills or willingness to do menial or unpleasant tasks.

They played an important role in helping the north African country repair an economy laid low by economic sanctions, but European governments have put pressure on Libya to stem the flow of illegal migration from its shores.

In one month alone this summer, Libyan authorities arrested more than 1,400 migrants trying to reach Europe.

The government has added border patrols, retrained migration officials, demanded official work contracts for migrants from some countries and adopted a regularization scheme for undocumented migrants.

But IOM in Libya says the country still hosts many tens of thousands of irregular migrants from Africa and Asia.

"Most of them use the services of smuggling networks and are often unaware of the dangers awaiting them as they attempt to cross the Mediterranean on rickety boats," it said. (Writing by Tom Pfeiffer)

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