The migrants had travelled in a convoy of 15 trucks that had
made its own way from an IOM centre in Sebha to Chad, arriving
there over a period of several days.
Their arrival comes as IOM begins preparations to evacuate
another large group of migrants still waiting for help to leave
Sebha.
Speaking to IOM upon their safe arrival at Zouarké on the
remote Chadian-Nigerien border, some of the 1,222 migrants
recounted the dangers they endured as they crossed the Libyan
desert to reach Niger and Chad.
“When we moved from Sebha to Zouarké at the border, one armed
vehicle stopped us and they took everything and they said, go
away,” one Chadian migrant told IOM.
Anger at the treatment of Africans in Libya was still evident
among the migrants.
“They broke my shoulder and took my money, 11,540 Libyan dinars.
After that, IOM brought me here to my country and I feel safe,”
another Chadian said of a recent experience before his escape from
Libya.
“In Libya, they took everybody with black skin and considered
them as mercenaries and put thousands in prison,” yet another
Chadian evacuee stated.
The evacuated migrants, comprising 12 different nationalities
but mainly Chadians and Nigerians, were provided immediate food,
water and medical assistance by waiting IOM staff as they crossed
into the remote Chadian border village of Zouarké.
From there, IOM staff escorted the convoy to Faya Largeau for
the last difficult part of the desert journey home. At Faya, all
the migrants were registered for assistance by IOM, including help
to return to their homes in Chad or in other countries via the
Chadian capital, N’Djamena.
Women were among the migrants evacuated from Libya, including
three pregnant Nigerians who were taken on a UN Humanitarian Air
Service (UNHAS) flight from Faya to the Chadian capital for medical
treatment and surveillance.
The IOM evacuation from Sebha of this group of 1,222 migrants
has ended months of uncertainty and fear over their future.
The migrants were among the several thousand who had arrived
at an IOM centre in Sebha in early September as the battle for
control of the town began.
This evacuation operation from Sebha, funded by the US,
Germany and the European Community’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil
Protection office (ECHO), has paved the way for IOM to
organize another operation from Sebha.
A ground assessment will be carried out in the coming days to
help decide on whether the evacuation should be by road or
air.
In July, IOM evacuated nearly 1,400 African migrants by air from
Sebha to Chad. The conflict in Sebha in September meant that option
was not possible for the group of 1,222.
Since the Libya crisis began in late February, more than
84,000 Chadian and other African migrants have been assisted by
IOM.
For further information, please contact:
In Chad: Craig Murphy, Tel: + 235 6340 0665 Email:
cmurphy@iom.int
In Geneva:
Jean Philippe Chauzy, Tel : + 41 22 717 9361/+41 79 285
4366 Email: jpchauzy@iom.int
Jemini Pandya, Tel: + 41 22 717 9486/+ 41 79 217 3374
Email: jpandya@iom.int
Jumbe Omari Jumbe, Tel: + 41 22 717 9405/+ 41 79 812 7734
Email : jjumbe@iom.int
