Libya and Chad discuss deportation of migrants held in Benghazi

Libyan migration authorities and Chadian consular officials are coordinating the deportation of Chadian migrants being held at a detention centre in Benghazi, with preparations underway to arrange returns to Chad, as reported by Libya Review on August 9th. 

The Department for Combating Illegal Migration in eastern Libya said Major General Abdulali Suleiman met with Chadian consular representative Boubaker Moussa to discuss deportation arrangements.

The meeting focused on the Chadian migrants who are currently held at the Greater Benghazi Qanfouda Detention Centre.

Major General Salah Mahmoud Al-Khulaifi, head of the Department for Combating Illegal Migration in Libya, called for the meeting to take place. 

Lists containing migrant names and personal information were reviewed and approved by officials as part of efforts to verify identities prior to the completion of the necessary procedures for their returns. 

Both Libyan and Chadian officials discussed the legal and administrative measures required to carry out the deportations in coordination with the relevant authorities and the Chadian consulate.

Priority would be given to cases requiring urgent action, including migrants subject to security restrictions, and those who are facing infectious diseases. 

The planned deportations will also include people detained in Libya without legal documents allowing for residency in the country, as well as migrants found to have entered the country through irregular means.

The number of Chadian nationals being held at the Qanfouda centre was not discussed, nor was a timeline as to when deportations are expected to begin. 

The talks form part of wider efforts by Libyan migration authorities to handle irregular migration and accelerate deportations through coordination with foreign consulates. 

Chad shares a lengthy desert border with southern Libya that has been used as an irregular migration route for a number of years.

Libya remains a destination and major transit point for migrants travelling towards Europe via the Mediterranean.

Arrests, deportations and voluntary returns are all commonly announced by migration authorities in Libya as the country continues to face challenges linked to illegal migration. 

Libya Review, Maghrebi.org.