12.01.2022: Mogadishu, Somalia
97 Somalis that had been illegal detained in Libya have been repatriated to Somalia this morning following an intervention by the Somali Federal Government.
The group was received by Somali Foreign Minister, Abdi Said Muse alongside other senior government officials at Aden Adde Airport. They were also joined by officials from the IOM that helped facilitate the repatriation.
About 100 more Somalis are expected to arrive in the country from Libya next week according to government officials.
Almost 2,500 Somalis have arrived back home since 2018 following their repatriation from various countries.
This comes after President Farmaajo met with his Libyan counterpart at the Turkish-Africa Summit side-lines in late 2021 and discussed the issue of Somali migrants in Libya.
Slavery in Libya
Libya is the main transit point for refugees and migrants trying to reach Europe by sea from Afria.
The Libyan Coast Guard — supported with funds and resources from the E.U. and more specifically, Italy — has cracked down on boats smuggling refugees and migrants to Europe. With estimates of 400,000 to almost one million people now detained in Libya, detention centres are overrun and there are mounting reports of robbery, rape, and murder among migrants, according to a report by the U.N. human rights agency.
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