By Jamal Adel.
Kufra, 20 August 2014
Though Kufra is traditionally known as an entrance point for illegal immigrants, about 160 Africans actually . . .[restrict]left the country by way of the small oasis town on Sunday.
According to an official at the Kuftra Department of Illegal Immigration, about 90 Chadians and 70 Sudanese departed.
The recent upsurge of violence in Libya has forced thousands of foreign workers and large numbers of illegal immigrants to flee the country.
“Those who left on Sunday, having chosen to leave Libya, had traveled to Kufra from Ajdabiya, Benghazi and the Wahat,” the official explained.
“In fact, about 700 more illegal immigrants are waiting to be sent home as well,” he added.
The Sudanese government was at first reluctant to pull out its nationals. At the start of this month, when a committee representing the Sudanese “stranded in Libya” appealed to the Sudanese Foreign Ministry seeking help to evacuate its citizens, Sudanese Foreign Minister Ali Karti refused, saying that the situation in Libya was not serious enough to merit an evacuation.
Last week, Karti changed his tune, authorising the evacuation of 140 Sudanese and their families via flights from Matiga. [/restrict]
