The International Organization for Migration (IOM) said Friday it has facilitated the return of 171 stranded Senegalese migrants, including one medical case, to Senegal by a charter flight, which departed from Tripoli’s Mitiga Airport and arrived in Dakar, Senegal, late Thursday.
Of the group, 161 had spent several months in Libya’s detention centers, the organization said, explaining that the repatriation was done in close cooperation with Libyan authorities, Senegal’s Embassy in Tripoli, the IOM office in Senegal and IOM office in Algeria.
This latest repatriation was instigated after the IOM organized visit by eight West African embassies in Libya to Abu-Saleem and Al-Gweea immigration detention centers on 2-3 May 2016.
Before departure, IOM Libya staff provided clothes, shoes and hygiene kits. A mobile patrol from the Tripoli Security Committee escorted the buses to Mitiga airport.
“The circumstances of this group were similar to the other migrants who were previously repatriated by IOM. Almost all the migrants traveling on this charter were detained as they were trying to travel to Europe. “
According to the organization, the average age of the migrants was 25 years, 153 of them were detained in Abu Saleem detention center, eight in Al-Gweea detention center and 10 were residing irregularly in urban locations.
Despite their journey of hope ending in detention centers, the migrants considered themselves lucky to have escaped death trying to cross the Mediterranean, which this year has taken the lives of 978 migrants and refugees on the route linking Libya to Italy.
Upon return in Senegal, all migrants were supported with an onward transportation grant to facilitate travel to their final destinations.
Photo credit: IOM
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