ACCRA, March 14 (Xinhua) -- The International Organization for Migration (IOM) has assisted the government of Ghana in evacuating 106 Ghanaians from the volatile situation in Libya, the foreign ministry said in a release here on Wednesday.
The evacuees were voluntarily brought on a chartered flight on Tuesday.
The voluntary evacuation followed 127 Ghanaian nationals held as illegal migrants in Libya and who were earlier transported to Accra in November last year, similarly facilitated by the IOM.
In response to the harrowing reports of human trafficking and the mistreatment of Ghanaian migrants, the government constituted a five-member fact-finding delegation which visited Libya last month to assess their situation.
Among those identified by the fact-finding team were Ghanaians who were being held at detention centers for various offenses, including entering Libya illegally and possession of fake documents.
The returnees, upon their arrival, were given cash support to cover immediate needs, including transportation, food and water, under the European Union-IOM initiative for migrant protection and reintegration program, which is designed to facilitate the smooth reintegration of the returnees in Ghana.
"In the meantime, the government is pursuing initiatives aimed at repatriating the remaining Ghanaian detainees who have expressed the desire to return home voluntarily," said the release.
