Photo credit: AFP
Libyan authorities deported over 150 Nigerian women and children on Tuesday under a UN-affiliated “voluntary return” scheme for irregular migrants, an immigration official and UN sources said.
Libya is a key departure point on North Africa’s Mediterranean coast for migrants from other parts of Africa. They risk dangerous sea voyages in the hope of reaching Europe.
Mohammed Bareda who works for Libya’s migration agency told AFP that the migrants deported on Tuesday were all Nigerian “women accompanied by children”.
Sources at the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said the group included 160 women and 17 children.
Baredaa said several more repatriation flights were due to leave this week from Mitiga and an airport in Benghazi, carrying groups of Bangladeshi, Gambian and Malian migrants.
