LIBYA: The Libya Government has on Tuesday repatriated 369 illegal migrants to their home countries Nigeria and Mali, including more than one hundred women and children
Mohammed Baredaa, head of the Libyan interior ministry supervisor tasked with the responsibility of halting irregular migration, said two repatriation flights took place transporting 204 Nigerians and 165 Malians.Baredea said 9 babies, 18 minors, and 108 women were among the Nigerian illegal migrants that was sent back to their home countries.
According to Baredea, the repatriation were carried out “in coordination with the International Organization for Migration (IOM)”.
The United Nation agency provides free return flights to migrants and helps reintegrate them into their home countries with its “voluntary humanitarian return programme
Though some of the deported migrants told news agency AFP on Tuesday that they were being forcibly deported.
A Nigerian named Mr Hakim,59, one of the returnees said the Libyan authority “came at night and broke down the door” A Nigerian who has lived in Libya for 25 years declined to give his surname.
He said they confiscated his passport before detaining him and his wife prior to repatriation.
Libya is still struggling to recover from years of war and chaos after the 2011 NATO-backed overthrow of longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi.
Libya has been criticised over the treatment of migrant and refugees, with accusations from rights groups ranging from extortion to slavery.
Situated about 300 kilometres (186 miles) from Italy, it is a key departure point for migrants, primarily from sub-Saharan African countries, risking perilous Mediterranean Sea journeys to seek better lives in Europe.
But with mounting efforts by Libya and the European Union to curb irregular migration, many have found themselves stranded in Libya.
Few week ago, Libyan authorities said up to four in five foreigners in the North African country were undocumented and illegal migrants
The Libyan authority says it is time to resolve this problem”, Interior Minister Imad Trabelsi had said at the time, adding that Libya has turned from a “transit country to a country of settlement” — something he deemed “unacceptable”.
