Tripoli, 2 August:
Twenty-six illegal migrants have been arrested in Sirte, by the Zawia Martyrs Brigade. According to its assistant commander, Salah . . .[restrict]Buhulaiga, who is in charge of the entrances to Sirte, the men in question were from Chad, Mali and Nigeria. They were believed to be hoping to take a boat across the Mediterranean.
Buhulaiga said that the immigrants had been medically examined and some were found to be suffering from hepatitis, but did not specify which strain They would all be returned to their countries of origin, he said.
Last month the same brigade announced that it had detained some 50 illegal migrants in the town, from Sudan, Niger, Ghana and Chad, and most of them in possession of forged documents. Four of them was also said to have hepatitis. They were handed over for deportation.
In May, the brigade said it had arrested 145 illegal African migrants in Sirte and deported them. [/restrict]
