On Wednesday, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Libya said that 141 Malian migrants have been repatriated from Libya, on a chartered flight from Sebha airport.
The IOM added that the flight came as a part of its Voluntary Humanitarian Returns (VHR) Program. “IOM’s Voluntary Humanitarian Returns continues to offer an immediate safe alternative to #migrants in Libya who wish to return home,” it tweeted
In early May, the Libyan Parliament’s Committee of Freedoms and Human Rights welcomed the resumption of the VHR program.
Rabia Aburas, a member at the Committee, said that these flights would “contribute to alleviating the overcrowding of migrants and their suffering in the shelters, and give them the opportunity to return to their countries.” She also stressed the need to know why the program was halted, and to ensure that this does not occur again.
Aburas described the flights as “the best solution currently available, especially since it does not place financial burdens on the Libyan state.”
She also affirmed the committee’s keenness to follow up on the conditions of migrants and refugees, and to hold abusers accountable.
The IOM disclosed that it has helped repatriate 60,000 migrants from Libya, over the past seven years.
Last Month, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said that the number of internally displaced Libyans has decreased by 47% since the October 2020 ceasefire.
It added that the number of people displaced from their cities and villages was now 168,000 between December 2021 and January 2022.
The total number of returnees to their homes has increased to 19% in the same period, with more than 670,000 returnees.
The IOM stated that the top three regions of displaced persons are Benghazi with about 38,000; Misrata with about 32,000; and Tripoli with more than 24,000.