Many Nigerians were among the dead in the bombing of a migrant camp in Libya where over 40 persons were killed.
Another 80 were injured after the airstrike targeted the Tajoura Detention Centre located in the east of Tripoli, the Libyan capital in the early hours of Wednesday.
Sources said many Nigerians were among the victims in the camp. An unconfirmed report says about 15 Nigerians might have been involved as head count of nationalities took place.
Many Nigerians are still stranded in many detention facilities in the restive Libya. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) and European Union (EU) have partnered the Federal Government to repatriate many Nigerians in Libya. Over 14,000 Nigerians have so far been repatriated since 2017 when the programme started.
With many Nigerians still stranded in Libya and quite a number of them locked up in detention centres hoping to be called up through the IOM/EU programme, the airstrike which is yet to be claimed by any organization has claimed the lives of some of them. The IOM and the Office of the United Nation High Commissioner for Refugees condemned the attack, and said the “appalling toll in injuries and lives” from the attack “speaks to the deep concerns, expressed repeatedly…
“This latest violence also speaks to the danger both IOM and UNHCR have warned, over returning migrants and refugees to Libya after their interception or rescue on the Mediterranean Sea,” the body lamented in a statement and called for “an immediate end to detention of migrants and refugees. We call for a guarantee of their protection in Libya.”