Libya-Nigeria: new wave of expulsions of irregular migrants

“Today (…) we organized the voluntary return of 177 female migrants and some Nigerian children aboard a flight departing from Tripoli Mitiga International Airport,“ said Mohamed Bred’a, head of deportations.

The group included nine children and eight infants, he said, adding that further repatriation flights were planned in the coming days and that deportations would continue. ” These departures are part of a humanitarian and voluntary approach, in line with the department’s program”, said Mr. Bred’a.

Libya remains a key transit point for migrants seeking to cross the Mediterranean to Europe, particularly since the fall of Moammar Gaddafi’s regime in 2011, which plunged the country into instability.