UN resumes refugee flights out of Libya

UN’s refugee agency, UNHCR, says it has resumed evacuation flights from Libya to Niger for refugees and migrants, which have provided a crucial lifeline out of dangerous conditions.

The resumption following a seven-month suspension of the program due to flight restrictions and health protocols imposed because of the threat of corona virus.

Refugees and migrants stuck in Libya have in the past been flown to transit camps in Niger where they then waited for a chance to be resettled elsewhere by UNHCR.

The agency said it had evacuated 153 people from Eritrea, Somalia, Sudan and South-Sudan on Thursday night.

The group included 15 children, many of whom are unaccompanied or separated from their parents.

The majority had also been held in Libya’s detention centres, which are often overcrowded and have poor sanitation standards.