On Saturday, the Libyan detention centre in Kufra announced that it had deported 120 migrants to Sudan who had allegedly entered the country illegally.
The Head of the detention centre in Kufra, Muhammed El-Fadil, said that he accompanied a truck carrying migrants to the southern Zawiya region. He added that he was keen to ensure that the migrants would not flee across the desert whilst being driven to Sudan. According to El-Fadil, some of the migrants were criminals who had been imprisoned.
El-Fadil appealed to officials to fulfil pledges to provide aid so that the centre can continue deporting foreign migrants to their countries through the Kufra border crossing.
The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) recently stated that Libya is home to more than 650,000 migrants, 6,000 of whom are held in detention centres. These are overcrowded, despite international calls to close down these centres.
Several Italian humanitarian organizations have called on the Italian Minister of Interior, Luciana Lamorgese, to intervene and evacuate all migrants stranded in Libya and host them in Italy.
The letter, signed by 16 humanitarian organizations, called on Lamorgese to allow charitable organisations to organize five immediate flights to transport the migrants from Libya to Italy.
Among the most prominent organizations that signed the letter are Mediterranea Saving Humans, Alarm Phone, and Baobab Experience, as well as 20 advocates for the rights of migrants.
It was reported that the Italian Minister is working on a project to implement these flights within 6 months.