Libya deports nearly 170 African migrants


Libyan authorities deported around 170 Senegalese migrants on Thursday (February 16) who had entered the country illegally in recent months.

The deportation program which Libyan authorities refer to as “voluntary return” puts migrants on a one-way flight from Tripoli back to their home countries.

The migrants arrive in Libya via the Mediterranean, after their boats either capsize under severe weather conditions or are intercepted by Libya’s coastal authorities.

The survivors are sent to shelters across the capital.

Libya has deported almost 1,000 illegal migrants since last year.

It has been helped by the European Union and the International Organization for Migration, in an effort to curb illegal immigration to Europe via the north African country.

Some 1.6 million refugees and migrants reached Europe by crossing the Mediterranean between 2014-2016 and the main route now leads from the shores of Libya to Italy.

http://www.ntd.tv/2017/02/16/libya-d...ican-migrants/