[AFRICANEWS] Libyan authorities announced on Monday what they said was the deportation of 486 illegal ...a confusing city, one end of which is located in Lebanon and the other end of which is the capital of Libya. Its chief distinction is being mentioned in the Marine Hymn...
-based government, Major General Imad Trabelsi, said 192
He added a further 294 who had entered the country "illegally" from Egypt would be sent back to authorities in Cairo.
Libyan authorities on Monday repatriated 161 Nigerians, officials said, part of a UN-backed voluntary return scheme as some North African countries see a spike in irregular migration.
Interior Minister Imed Trabelsi, of the UN-recognised government based in the war-torn country's west, met the
"We cannot bear the burden of clandestine migration alone" without international support, he told news hounds at the airport.
He said that out of the group, "102 were intercepted at the border as they were trying to" cross between Libya and Tunisia.
The North African neighbours on August 10 agreed to share responsibility for providing shelter for hundreds of
Some 2,000
Since the start of July, at least 27 have been found dead in the border area and another 73 were missing, a humanitarian source told AFP earlier this month.
An official with Nigeria's embassy in Tripoli said the group of 161 was "not forced back" home.
"We spoke to (them) and explained that migration is not bad... but you have to follow due process," said embassy adviser Samuel Okeri.