The Anti-Illegal Immigration Agency in Tripoli announced, in a move aimed at dealing with the migration crisis, the return of 369 migrants from Nigeria and Mali to their countries of origin.
This operation, which was carried out in coordination with the International Organization for Migration, included the deportation of more than 100 women and children.
According to what was reported by “Agence France-Presse”, Major General Mohamed Breidaa, an official in the Anti-Immigration Agency, explained that the operation included two flights: the first transported 204 Nigerian migrants, while the second transported 165 Malian migrants. Among the Nigerian migrants, there were 108 women, 18 minors and 9 children.
Breidaa confirmed that “these flights come as part of the voluntary departure program for migrants”, noting that the arrest of migrants is carried out after complaints are filed by the municipalities, and by order of the Public Prosecutor’s Office.
For his part, a Nigerian immigrant named Hakim expressed his dissatisfaction with the speed of the arrests and deportations, stressing that the immigrants were not given enough time to arrange their affairs before deportation.
These steps come at a time when the Minister of Interior in the interim Government of National Unity stated that irregular migration has become a threat to Libyan national security, pointing to the need to solve this problem urgently.
In the same context, the branch of the Anti-Illegal Immigration Agency in Benghazi announced the arrest of 2,017 irregular immigrants in one month, including 145 cases of infection with hepatitis C and B viruses, in addition to five cases of infection with the acquired immunodeficiency virus (AIDS), according to a statement published on the agency’s Facebook page.
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