A total of 369 irregular migrants comprising more than one hundred women and children have been deported from Libya to Nigeria and Mali.
The head of the Libyan Interior Ministry organisation tasked with halting irregular migration, Mohammed Baredaa said two repatriation flights took place transporting 204 Nigerians and 165 Malians.
A Libyan official told AFP on Tuesday that nine babies, 18 minors, and 108 women were among the Nigerian irregular migrants.
Baredaa added that the flights were carried out “in coordination with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM)”.
The United Nations agency provides free return flights to migrants and helps reintegrate them into their home countries with its “voluntary humanitarian return programme”.
Some migrants told AFP on Tuesday that they were being forcibly deported.
Libyan authorities “came at night and broke down the door”, said Hakim, 59, a Nigerian who has lived in Libya for 25 years and declined to give his surname.
Hakim said they confiscated his passport before detaining him and his wife ahead of their repatriation.
Libya is still struggling to recover from years of war and chaos after the 2011 NATO-backed overthrow of longtime dictator, Moamer Kadhafi.
Smugglers and human traffickers have taken advantage of the climate of instability that has dominated the vast country since.
Libya has been criticised over the treatment of migrants and refugees, with accusations from rights groups ranging from extortion to slavery.
Situated about 300 kilometers (186 miles) from Italy, the country is a key departure point for migrants, primarily from sub-Saharan African countries, risking perilous Mediterranean Sea journeys to seek better living conditions in Europe.
But with mounting efforts by Libya and the European Union to curb irregular migration, many have found themselves stranded in Libya.
Earlier this month, Libyan authorities said up to four in five foreigners in the North African country were undocumented.
“It’s time to resolve this problemme”, Interior Minister Imad Trabelsi had said at the time, adding that Libya has turned from a “transit country to a country of settlement”, something he deemed “unacceptable”.
