Asylum Seekers Evacuation from Libya to Rwanda

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has evacuated on Thursday (19 Nov) a group of 79 vulnerable asylum-seekers out of Libya to safety in Rwanda.

These critical, life-saving flights from Libya to Rwanda had been on hold for nearly a year because of COVID-19-related worldwide border closures and movement restrictions. The group evacuated last night follows 306 other refugees brought to safety so far, thanks to the Emergency Transit Mechanism (ETM), agreed and set up in mid-2019 by the Government of Rwanda, UNHCR and the African Union.

The UNHCR-chartered flight, which took off from the Libyan capital, Tripoli, Thursday afternoon, landed safely at Kigali International Airport at 10PM local time. The group included men, women, and children from Eritrea, Sudan and Somalia. Most were living in Tripoli, but many had previously been held in detention, some for several years.

These evacuation flights are a vital lifeline for refugees and asylum seekers trapped in Libya. The ETM gives hope and provides a safe and organized pathway to longer-term solutions. However, the number of places available through the ETM and other humanitarian evacuation flights is still insufficient. UNHCR advocates for more countries to take part and offer more places for the most vulnerable refugees-UNHCR

Subscribe Our You Tube Channel