International Organization for Migration facilitates safe return of Somali asylum seekers

The International Organization for Migration reported that 171 Somali asylum seekers who had been trapped in Libya were safely flown back to Somalia on a chartered plane organized under the EU‑supported return programme. The passengers, including three minors, had endured exploitation, inadequate nutrition, and lack of medical help while awaiting a chance to leave. IOM’s Director for Somalia, Manuel Marques Pereira, asserted that migration must never become a threat to individual safety, dignity or future. The charter plane first touched down in Hargeisa, off‑loading 42 passengers, before completing the journey to Mogadishu where relatives greeted the returnees.