Sudanese in Libya call for repatriation
Sudanese citizens stranded in Libya have described their deteriorating situation as “complicated”, as it has become almost impossible for them to find employment.
Moataz Abdelsalam, a Sudanese in Benghazi, told Radio Dabanga: “Life has become very difficult. The Sudanese now cannot go out to work unless accompanied by Libyans as there is a lack of job opportunities.”
He claimed that any Sudanese who goes out alone or with a group of Sudanese is detained and charged with belonging to Islamic State (IS), and then slain in prisons. “There are a lot of Sudanese now in Libyan prisons.”
He accused the Sudanese embassy in Libya of not assuming its responsibility for the Sudanese citizens. “We repeatedly went to the embassy and asked them to work on transporting us, but embassy officials […] told us they are not responsible for us and that they have to leave Libya the way we entered.”
Abdelsalam appealed to the humanitarian organisations and the United Nations to intervene to protect them, and transport them away from Libya.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported last December that 125 Sudanese nationals died in Libya in 2014. He then acknowledged the “lack of accurate statistics on the number of Sudanese in Libya, because of the dire insecurity, and the complex political situation”. In a press conference in Khartoum on Tuesday, he stated that there are still “between 6,000 and 8,000 Sudanese in Libya, most of them in Tripoli and Benghazi”.
Sudanese citizens stranded in Libya have described their deteriorating situation as “complicated”, as it has become almost impossible for them to find employment.
Moataz Abdelsalam, a Sudanese in Benghazi, told Radio Dabanga: “Life has become very difficult. The Sudanese now cannot go out to work unless accompanied by Libyans as there is a lack of job opportunities.”
He claimed that any Sudanese who goes out alone or with a group of Sudanese is detained and charged with belonging to Islamic State (IS), and then slain in prisons. “There are a lot of Sudanese now in Libyan prisons.”
He accused the Sudanese embassy in Libya of not assuming its responsibility for the Sudanese citizens. “We repeatedly went to the embassy and asked them to work on transporting us, but embassy officials […] told us they are not responsible for us and that they have to leave Libya the way we entered.”
Abdelsalam appealed to the humanitarian organisations and the United Nations to intervene to protect them, and transport them away from Libya.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported last December that 125 Sudanese nationals died in Libya in 2014. He then acknowledged the “lack of accurate statistics on the number of Sudanese in Libya, because of the dire insecurity, and the complex political situation”. In a press conference in Khartoum on Tuesday, he stated that there are still “between 6,000 and 8,000 Sudanese in Libya, most of them in Tripoli and Benghazi”.
and then