157 Bangladeshis return from Libya

A group of 157 undocumented Bangladeshi nationals, who wanted to voluntarily return home from Libya, arrived in Dhaka today.
A chartered flight of Buraq Air, carrying them, landed at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport at 4:25am following a joint effort by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh Embassy in Tripoli, Libya and the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
Most of them entered Libya facilitated by human traffickers, with the intention of illegally traveling to Europe via the sea route. They were the victims of kidnapping and torture at different times in Libya, according to the foreign ministry. On arrival, the returnees were received by ministry and IOM officials at the airport.
IOM provided each of them with Tk 6,000 and some food items.
They will be provided treatment and temporary accommodation if necessary.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Bangladesh Embassy in Tripoli, and IOM are working together to arrange for the safe repatriation of Bangladeshi citizens detained in various detention centers in Libya.
Meanwhile, another batch of 58 individuals is expected to arrive in Bangladesh on October 23 from Lebanon.
The flight with the first batch of evacuees from Lebanon arrived in Dhaka’s Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport via Jeddah on Monday, with a group comprising 54 individuals, including 20 women and eight children.