Somalis held in Libyan prisons arrive in Mogadishu

The first group of Somalis stranded in Libya jails arrived in Mogadishu today as the government moves to evacuate them following reports of human slavery in the North African nation.

Receiving the 11, among them three children and eight adults at Aden Adde Airport Saturday, Deputy Prime Minister Mahdi Guled said the government was committed to ensuring all Somalis in Libyan and other foreign jails are returned home.

“This is a prove that government of Somalia is committed to protecting its people and this also part of our efforts to get back our people in the prisons out of the country,” said Guled.

President Mohamed Farmaajo hailed the return of the 11 and pledged his government would ensure all those in prisons in foreign countries are returned. “Glad that 11 Somalis are safely back home from Libya. It’s our top priority to ensure that no Somali National gets mistreated in foreign detention. We shall double our efforts to create opportunities for our youth,” a twitter post from the President’s official account read.

The government and the UN refugee agency notes that over 200 Somalis are still in Libya even as some maintain they do not want to return to the country.

Special Envoy for Migrants and Children’s Rights of Somalia Maryan Yasin said some of the Somalis they met in Libya do not want to return to the country since they have lost a lot and wish to try their luck once again instead of coming back home.

“I met this woman who said, I was here in Libya for less than two years, I spent $18,000, I’m not going back to my mum with nothing, I’m not going back,” Yasin told VOA. “They say they have suffered enough and want to take the last chance.”

The return programme is coordinated jointly by UNHCR and IOM and led by the government of Somalia.