MOGADISHU (Halbeeg News) – Somali government in cooperation with the UN’s International Organization for Migration (IOM) successfully repatriated at least nine Somali migrants from Libya.
In a statement, Somali government’s Special Envoy for Children’s and Migrants Rights, Ambassador Maryan Yassin Haji Yusuf said the returnees who were planning to migrate to European countries were jailed in the north African country for years.
The returnees welcomed by Ms Yussuf and several other officials from IOM at Aden Adde International Airport.
The Somalis were returned to their country through Voluntary Humanitarian Return (VHR) programme
“It was an overwhelming experience for all of us to see you back home. However, there are so many young men and women stranded in Libya and a lot still needs be done in terms of prevention. Every migrant has the right to go back home in a safe and dignified manner,” Yussuf told the returnees.
The VHR programme is funded by the EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration (the EU-IOM Joint Initiative) and through the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affair’s Migration Fund.
Since 2015 the initiative has supported the safe return of thousands of migrants from Libya to various countries across Europe and Asia.
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