TRIPOLI: Libya on Tuesday repatriated 369 irregular migrants to their home states Nigeria and Mali, including more than one hundred women and children, an official said.
Head of the Libyan interior ministry organization, Mohammed Baredaa, said 204 Nigerians and 165 Malians were transported in two repatriation flights.
He added nine babies, 18 minors, and 108 women were among the irregular Nigerian migrants. He said that the flights were operated in coordination with the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
The UN agency provides free return flights to migrants and helps them to reintegrate into their home countries with its voluntary humanitarian return initiative. But some migrants told Western media on Tuesday that they were being forcibly deported.
Libya is still struggling to recover from years of chaos and war after the 2011 NATO-backed overthrow of dictator Muammar Qaddafi. Human traffickers and smugglers have taken advantage of the unstable situation.
Libya has been criticized over the treatment of refugees and migrants, with accusations from rights groups ranging from slavery to extortion.
The African country is a key departure point for migrants, particularly from sub-Saharan African states risking dangerous Mediterranean Sea journeys to seek better lives in Europe.
Libyan authorities, earlier this month said up to four in five foreigners in Libya were undocumented.
“It’s 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.”
