Authorities in Libya repatriated 174 irregular migrants to Nigeria on Tuesday, most of them men, dozens of women, and six children, with more deportations planned for the coming weeks.
Mohammed Baredaa, who leads the Libyan interior ministry organisation tasked with halting irregular migration said the department had begun “to repatriate 174 irregular migrants of Nigerian origin”, including 39 women and six children.
He added that the operations, which are carried out by air or road depending on the nationality, would “continue over the coming weeks”.
The International Organisation for Migration, or IOM, helps vulnerable migrants blocked in Libya or who wish to go home do so through its voluntary humanitarian return programme.
Human traffickers take advantage of the instability in most parts of the country, following the toppling and murder of former Libyan leader, Moamer Kadhafi in a 2011 by a NATO-backed uprising.
Libya, which is about 300 kilometres from Italy, is a major exit point in North Africa for migrants risking sea expeditions to Europe.
A 20-year-old Nigerian migrant, Zakaria Abubaker Shueib, set to be repatriated, told AFP, “I have been in Libya for three years to work and earn money and move to Europe.”
IOM reports that migrant deaths or disappearances rose to 4,984 in 2023 on Middle East and North Africa routes, compared with 3,820 in 2022.
“Tunisia accounts for the highest number of incidents recorded followed by Libya with 683 recorded deaths” of migrants, the majority of whom left western Libya, said the report was released in mid-June.