The United Nations refugee agency on Tuesday flew 54 vulnerable African refugees including 23 children to Rome from Niger after "prolonged" detention in war-torn Libya's notorious centres, bringing the total airlifted to Italy to over 900, UNHCR said in a statement.
The airlifted refugees are Eritrea, Ethiopia, Somalia and Sudan, and 13 of the children are separated from their families and relatives. Most of the refugees had been detained in terrible conditions for long periods, had suffered appalling human rights abuses and their personal safety was at risk.
“Refugees in Libya continue to face a dire situation, struggling to access the basics needed to survive,” said Jean-Paul Cavalieri, UNHCR Representative in Libya.
“By welcoming them to Niger, and by arranging for their relocation to Italy, both countries have shown much-needed solidarity towards refugees. However, thousands more need the same support," Cavalieri said.
It is nonetheless essential that other countries step up and offer more places to refugees and help UNHCR evacuate more vulnerable refugees i to safety from Libya - where violence is intensifying - Cavalieri underlined.
Tuesday's was the UNHCR second airlift of needy refugees from Niger to Italy after a first group of 51 people was transferred in November last year. A total 913 vulnerable people previously at risk in Libya have been relocated to Italy since December 2017, including some evacuated directly out of the country, UNHCR said.
UNHCR has evacuated more than 5,100 refugees and asylum-seekers out of Libya to other countries since 2017, including 2,913 to Niger and 189 to Rwanda through its Emergency Transit Mechanism.
