Libyan authorities have deported more than 150 Nigerian women and children under a United Nations-backed voluntary return program for irregular migrants.
Mohamad Baredaa of Libya’s migration agency confirmed on Tuesday that the deportees were Nigerian women accompanied by children. The International Organization for Migration (IOM), the UN agency overseeing the repatriation, reported that the group comprised 160 women and 17 children.
The migrants were seen dressed in black tracksuits at a Tripoli detention center before being transported by bus to Mitiga Airport for their flight back to Nigeria.
Libya remains a major transit hub for African migrants attempting perilous journeys across the Mediterranean to Europe. However, the country has also become notorious for human trafficking and migrant abuse, exacerbated by years of instability following the 2011 overthrow of former leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Libyan authorities estimate that over four million migrants are currently in the country, though the IOM puts the number at over 700,000. More repatriation flights carrying migrants from Bangladesh, Gambia, and Mali are expected to depart from Tripoli and Benghazi later this week.
Libya’s Interior Minister, Imad Trabelsi, stated that the country would not bear the burden of illegal migration alone, emphasizing that Libya will not become a settlement zone for migrants.
