Mogadishu receives over 130 Somalis stranded in Libya through EU-backed return

Somalia’s ministers of interior and health received citizens, including children, at Aden Adde International Airport after an EU-backed voluntary humanitarian return program brought them home. The government pledged comprehensive medical examinations and reintegration programs for the returnees.

More than 130 Somali citizens who had been stranded in Libya returned to Mogadishu on Tuesday after irregular migration journeys left them facing harsh conditions in the North African country. The operation was carried out under an EU-backed voluntary humanitarian return program in coordination with the federal government.

The Ministry of Interior, Federal Affairs and Reconciliation said Minister Ali Yusuf Ali Hosh, accompanied by Minister of Health and Human Services Dr. Ali Haji Adam and Liban Abdi Egal, commissioner of the National Commission for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons, received 135 returnees. Representatives of the European Union, the German Agency for International Cooperation (GIZ) and the International Organization for Migration attended the reception. Hiran Online, however, reported that the number of returnees was 170, while Shabelle Media said 171 people had returned.

A Somali official embraces a child returning from Libya on the runway at Mogadishu airport

Exploitation by smugglers and detention conditions

Hosh told Hiran Online that the returnees had faced serious humanitarian challenges, including exploitation by smugglers and harsh conditions in detention centers. Officials involved in the operation said some of the returnees were experiencing health problems. The minister added that the government and its partners had prepared assistance programs covering medical care, employment opportunities and reintegration services, and urged Somali youth to avoid irregular migration routes through the deserts and across the Mediterranean.

Shabelle Media quoted Dr. Saadia Mohamed Moalim Hassan, director of refugee and displaced-persons health at the Ministry of Health, as saying that all returnees would undergo comprehensive medical examinations. The health minister said the government would pay particular attention to those with special needs. The European Union Delegation to Somalia described the return as safe, voluntary and dignified.

Somali ministers and international partners’ representatives receive returnees, including children

Regular return flights

On the same day, Hosh met with a delegation from the European Union, GIZ and the International Organization for Migration to discuss strengthening cooperation on safe and dignified returns and sustainable reintegration programs. FTL Somalia reported that return flights from Libya had become regular during the year: 171 migrants returned in September on a flight chartered by the International Organization for Migration, nearly 130 in July and 174 in April.

For years, Libya has been a major transit point for migrants seeking to reach Europe across the Mediterranean. They include Somalis seeking economic opportunities or fleeing insecurity, many of whom face arbitrary detention and exploitation by smuggling networks there.

Photos: Somalia’s Ministry of Interior, Federal Affairs and Reconciliation

Mogadishu receives over 130 Somalis stranded in Libya through EU-backed return