The Libyan Anti-illegal Immigration Agency has announced on Sunday the repatriation of 158 illegal immigrants to Mali through Misrata International Airport, in coordination with the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The Head of the Deportation Bureau at Misrata airport, Hussein Al-Ameen, clarified that among the returnees were 10 children and 12 women from shelters in Tripoli and the city of Khoms, and explained the operation as part of the voluntary repatriation program. IOM announced on September 15 the resumption of flights to repatriate illegal immigrants in Libya, after the easing of hostilities in Tripoli. A month earlier, the authorities of the North African country announced the departure of 164 undocumented Nigerians as part of the voluntary repatriation program promoted by IOM. In 2017, this UN entity returned more than 19,000 citizens from Libya to their home countries; the program aims to organize the repatriation of thousands of migrants rescued at sea or detained by Libyan authorities, housed in asylum centers established in this territory. The North African nation has become the main starting point for undocumented migrants who risk crossing the Mediterranean Sea and reaching Europe in an attempt to escape the situations of war, violence and poverty in their home countries.
SOURCE: Prensa Latina
