More African migrants trapped in Libya and seeking refuge have arrived in Rwanda as part of a resettlement program.
Those who arrived over the weekend are part of the third batch of refugees, who have been held in detention centres in Libya.
The third group had 116 refugees and asylum seekers who were safely evacuated from Libya.
Rwanda’s government said the migrants will be staying at Gashura transit centre, about 55km (34 miles) south of the capital, Kigali.
That is the same place were the previous 189 refugees and asylum seekers evacuated on September 26 and October 10 are being housed.
The third group of 116 refugees and asylum seekers evacuated from Libya under the #ETM has safely arrived in Rwanda. They are also to be hosted in Gashora TC already hosting 189 refugees and asylum seekers evacuated on 26/9 and 10/10. pic.twitter.com/XGs8NqsfFn
— Ministry of Emergency Management (@RwandaEmergency) November 24, 2019
The refugees are mainly Eritrean and Somali nationals and getting resettled as part of an agreement between the Rwandan government, the UN refugee agency and the African Union.
Rwanda has agreed to take in some 500 out of some 4,700 estimated number of refugees currently in custody in Libya, under a new transit mechanism.
Many migrants from Africa continue to seek for greener pastures outside the continent.
They have resorted to the north of Africa as a transit point with some risking their lives through the Mediterranean Sea.
Some of these migrants are also abused by traffickers and sold into slavery.
In 2017 the African Union said it had planned to evacuate about 15,000 of the migrants but no progress was made in that regard.
Source: Africafeeds.com
