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A group of refugees arrive at Kigali International Airport after a life-saving evacuation flight to Rwanda from Libya. UNHCR/Eugene Sibomana

More than 100 vulnerable refugees, including several babies born in detention centres in Libya, have arrived in Rwanda on a humanitarian evacuation flight organized by UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency.

The group of 117landed at Kigali International Airport at 22:45 last night (Sunday 24 November). They have been taken to a transit facility in Gashora, where UNHCR is providing them with life-saving assistance, including food, water, medical care, psycho-social support, and accommodation.

As violence in Tripoli intensifies, these evacuations have never been more urgent, said Vincent Cochetel, UNHCR Special Envoy for the Central Mediterranean. But with thousands of refugees still at risk in detention centres and urban areas in Libya, we need States to help us get more refugees out of the country much more quickly.

The group are mostly from Eritrea, with smaller numbers from Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan and South Sudan.

Around two-thirds of the group are under 18 years old, the vast majority of whom have been separated from their parents and wider family. Among the group are two one month-old babies.

The individuals have been given asylum-seeker status while their cases are assessed and further solutions are pursued, including resettlement, voluntary return to countries of previous asylum, voluntary return to countries of origin where safe to do so and local integration in Rwanda.

Around a quarter of the group were evacuated via the Gathering and Departure Facility in Tripoli. Others were evacuated directly from detention centres and urban areas.

Individuals were identified based on assessments of vulnerability. Due to the limited number of available evacuation and resettlement places, efforts are made to prioritise those most in need, often including unaccompanied children, survivors of torture and other abuses, and people in need of medical treatment, amongst others.

A number of additional humanitarian flights out of Libya are planned during the next few weeks.

UNHCR is grateful for support of Libyan, Rwandan and Nigerien authorities, and from the African Union, through the Emergency Transit Mechanism (ETM). UNHCR also welcomes the recent donation of US$10 million from the European Union towards the Rwanda ETM, helping us move more vulnerable refugees out of Libya and to safety.

Following this evacuation, UNHCR has assisted 2,142refugees and asylum seekers with solutions out of Libya in 2019 including the resettlement of 723 individuals. We continue to call for the end of detention of refugees and migrants in Libya as well as more places and faster, more flexible processes to move more refugees away from danger.

Around 4,500 refugees and asylum seekers continue to be held in detention centres in Libya, including people newly detained after being rescued or intercepted at sea by the Libyan Coast Guard. Together with other vulnerable refugees living in urban areas, they remain at risk of being caught up in the continued clashes or being subjected to horrific forms of harm in the hands of smugglers and traffickers in Libya.

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Third group of refugees evacuated to Rwanda from Libya with UNHCR support - UNHCR

"We are happy to leave the Libyan hell behind," migrants told Euronews as their rescue ship, Aita Mari. arrived into southern Sicily.

They were among 79 people rescued in the Mediterranean last week.

"In my country, the only life is that of being a soldier," said Abdul. "There is no education and no freedom."

He left Eritrea at the age of 15 to avoid military service and war.

He fled to Ethiopia, then to Sudan, and finally to Libya, where he was captured by one of the militias fighting to control the country.

"Libya is not a good place," Abdul said while showing the scars on his arms.

"We had to eat toothpaste [to survive]," Ismail, a young man from Somalia, told Euronews. He has tried to cross the Mediterranean three times, but he was repeatedly intercepted by the Libyan Coast Guard and taken into detention centres.

"Prisons are controlled by militias," he said. "They are made up of brothers, cousins... and they ask for ransom."

The testimony of the 79 people rescued by the Aita Mari match with those of human rights organisations working in Libya: detention centres are places for torture and extortion.

"You get arrested just because you are black," Ismail explained.

Hamir will never forget the journey through the desert on a van: dozens of bodies fell during the drive.

"At sea, at least you can swim. If you fall during this trip, you're dead. You couldn't see anything but the desert", he said.

When they arrived in Tripoli, Hamir and his brother were arrested and imprisoned.

"One day, I managed to escape during a football match, but I left my brother inside," he said.

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Migrants tell of their 'Libyan hell' as they arrive in Europe - Euronews

ON BOARD THE OPEN ARMS (Reuters) - An African migrant recently rescued from a crowded dinghy drifting in the Mediterranean said he would have rather died at sea than return to Libya, highlighting the desperation driving the current wave of immigration to Europe.

A migrant looks at waves on board of NGO Proactiva Open Arms rescue boat in central Mediterranean Sea, November 23, 2019. REUTERS/Juan Medina

Ibrahim Assoumanou Abdel Azize, originally from Togo, his Nigerian partner Fethia Owolabi and their five-year old son Ibrahim were among 73 migrants plucked out of a rubber dinghy on Wednesday night by the crew of Spain-based rescue ship, Open Arms.

The migrants, mostly from Central and West Africa, had been drifting around 50 miles off the Libyan coast for nearly 24 hours when they were picked up.

Cradling his young son in his arms, Azize smiled with relief on the ships deck, Reuters TV footage showed.

After leaving their home in Nigeria the family arrived in Libya where they worked odd jobs for two years to try and save the $1,300 needed to pay for the crossing.

You work for them, they dont pay the money, thats why we decided to leave Libya, we cant live our life like that with my son, I just want to keep my kid safe, thats why I left, said Owolabi.

UN figures show more than 1,000 migrants are believed to have drowned or gone missing while attempting to reach Europe from North Africa this year.

Azize said the crossing was worth the risk to escape Libya.

I wanted to come to Europe, it wasnt easy while I was on the water... if I must die on the water, it is better than returning to Libya, he said.

Owolabi said she had been terrified and wished she had stayed in Nigeria.

I didnt know the big sea... I was crying, I told the people lets go back because I was scared.

I didnt know it would be like this, if I had known this I wouldnt have come, I would have gone back to my country.

Open Arms is seeking to dock at a European port, likely in Italy or Malta, mission chief Ricardo Gati said on Thursday.

Both countries have previously refused to let the vessel land rescued migrants at its ports. A weeks-long dispute with the Italian government this summer was only resolved after a court ordered authorities to open the port, allowing 100 migrants to disembark.

Reporting by Juan Medina,; Writing by Nathan Allen, Elena Rodriguez; Editing by Alexandra Hudson

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I'd have rather died at sea than return to Libya, says rescued migrant - Reuters

TRIPOLI - The International Organization for Migration (IOM) is alarmed by the latest developments in Libya where, in the span of 48 hours, at least nine boats carrying more than 600 migrants have been discovered on the central Mediterranean route. A tenth boat arrived today in Lampedusa, Italy.

This apparent spike in departures from Libya comes at a time when the capital, Tripoli, and surrounding areas are witnessing some of the heaviest shelling since the conflict erupted in April.

IOM is deeply concerned about the safety of migrants who are vulnerable to clashes, human trafficking and abuse as the security situation further deteriorates, said Federico Soda, IOM Libya Chief of Mission.

Libya is not a safe port; there is a need for a predictable and safe disembarkation mechanism for migrants fleeing violence and abuse.

IOM renews its call to the European Union and the African Union, for an urgent shift in approach to the situation in Libya. Immediate action must be taken to dismantle the detention system and find alternative solutions to safeguard lives.

Between Tuesday (29/11) and Thursday (21/11), operators of the Ocean Viking and Open Arms NGO vessels reported rescuing 287 migrants. IOM Libya confirms that the Libyan Coast Guard returned 289 others to shore including 14 children and 33 women; they were transferred to a detention centre. IOM staff who provided emergency assistance at the disembarkation point described the migrants as vulnerable and scared.

Forty-three others were picked up by the Tunisian authorities off the coast of Djerba on Thursday morning. A further 74 migrants also arrived at Lampedusa today. According to IOM Staff in both locations, the boats departed from Zwara, Libya.

IOM Libya is unable to verify reports Wednesday night that another vessel sank with a significant loss of life.

Since the beginning of the year, more than 8,600 migrants have been returned to often overcrowded Libyan detention centres where the United Nations has documented unacceptable conditions, violations of human rights and disappearances.

The Latest- Early Thursday morning Tunisia authorities discovered 43 people in a boat off the coast of Djerba.

The NGO rescue vessel Open Arms rescued 73 people and, Ocean Viking a further 90.

IOM staff in Lampedusa reported the arrival of a wooden boat carrying 74 migrants.

On Wednesday, Ocean Viking rescued a further 30 people and the Libyan Coast Guard returned 289 people from four boats.

On Tuesday, Ocean Viking NGO vessel rescued 94 people.

For more information, please contact Safa Msehli at IOM Geneva: Tel:+41794035526; Email: smsehli@iom.int

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IOM: Urgent Shift Needed in Approach to the Situation in Libya - Libya - ReliefWeb

Rwanda: Third group of refugees arrive from Libya

A third group of refugees evacuated from detention centres in Libya have arrived in Rwanda.

With the help of the UN refugee agency (UNHCR), Rwanda has welcomed 116 vulnerable refugees, including several babies, the agency said on Monday. The group mostly consists of refugees from Eritrea, with smaller numbers from Somalia, Ethiopia, Sudan and South Sudan.

The group arrived at Kigali International Airport on Sunday night from an evacuation flight organised by UNHCR. The agency says around two-thirds of the group are under the age of 18 years old, the vast majority of whom have been separated from their parents and wider families.

UNHCR expressed gratitude for the support it received in the latest evacuation.

UNHCR is grateful for support of Libyan, Rwandan and Nigerien authorities, and from the African Union, through the Emergency Transit Mechanism (ETM), it said in a statement on Monday. UNHCR also welcomes the recent donation of US$10 million from the European Union towards the Rwanda ETM, helping us move more vulnerable refugees out of Libya and to safety.

However, UNHCR Special Envoy for the Central Mediterranean, Vincent Cochetel, says the growing need to evacuate refugees from Syria means UNHCR needs the help of supporting countries to get them out.

As violence in Tripoli intensifies, these evacuations have never been more urgent, he was quoted as saying in the statement. But with thousands of refugees still at risk in detention centres and urban areas in Libya, we need states to help us get more refugees out of the country much more quickly.

UNHCR says around 4,500 refugees and asylum seekers continue to be held in detention centres in Libya, including people newly-detained people who have been intercepted or rescued by the Libyan Coast Guard.

Featured image: By UNHCR http://www.unhcr.org/cgi-bin/texis/vtx/home, CC BY 3.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=5518123

Aaron Brooks is a UK journalist who wants to cut out the international agendas in news. Spending his early years in both England and Northern Ireland he saw the difference between reality and media coverage at an early age. After graduating from the University of Chester with a BA in journalism, his travels revealed just how large the gap between news and the real world can be. As Editor-in-Chief at East Africa Monitor, its his job to provide a balanced view of whats going on in the region for English-speaking audiences.View all posts by Aaron Brooks

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Rwanda: Third group of refugees arrive from Libya - East Africa Monitor