Official data issued by the Anti-Illegal Immigration Service in Libya revealed that 2,102 Sudanese and Chadian immigrants were deported from the city of Kufra during the first six months of this year.
The data indicated that 985 Sudanese immigrants were deported, nearly half of whom were suffering from epidemic diseases. The statistics also indicated that the largest number of deportations, which included 763 immigrants, took place in the months of May and June only.
The number of deported Chadian migrants reached 1,117 people, 240 of whom were suffering from epidemic diseases, highlighting the major health challenges facing the authorities in dealing with irregular migration flows.
In a related context, the Sudan Tribune reported that approximately 1,200 displaced Sudanese are crossing into Libya daily during the month of July, most of them women and children, which reinforces fears of a worsening humanitarian crisis in the region.
The sources expressed their concern about the situation in Kufra, warning of a humanitarian catastrophe if the flow of humanitarian aid to Sudanese refugees, whose number exceeds 45 thousand, stops.
Migrants in the Libyan city of Kufra suffer from several epidemic diseases, most notably cases of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and hepatitis, and there is growing concern about the spread of these diseases, as about 800 cases of HIV infection and hepatitis cases have been recorded among Sudanese refugees in the city.
In addition, many migrants in detention centers suffer from malnutrition, infectious skin diseases, and bacterial infections, and a health emergency has been declared in Kufra due to the outbreak of other infectious diseases such as tuberculosis and malaria.
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