Libya repatriates 170 Nigeria migrants, plans more returns

Libya said it repatriated 174 irregular migrants to Nigeria on Tuesday, including dozens of women and six children, with further returns planned in the coming weeks.
   The operation was announced by Mohammed Baredaa, head of the Libyan
interior ministry organization tasked with halting irregular migration.
   Baredaa said the department had begun "to repatriate 174 irregular migrants
of Nigerian origin", including 39 women and the six children.
   These operations, which are carried out by plane or road depending on the
nationality, would "continue over the coming weeks", he said.
   The International Organization for Migration, or IOM, helps vulnerable
migrants blocked in Libya or who wish to go home to do so through its
voluntary humanitarian return program. Smugglers and human traffickers have taken advantage of the climate of instability which has dominated Libya since dictator Moamer Kadhafi was toppled and killed in a 2011 NATO-backed uprising.
   Libya, about 186 miles from Italy, is a key departure point in North Africa for sub-Saharan migrants risking sea journeys to Europe.