Rabat – As the government promised “a speedy repatriation of Moroccan migrants stranded in Libya,” 235 Moroccans have left Libya as of December 7 and are now on their way home.
The Assistant Consul of the Moroccan Embassy in Tunisia spent Wednesday night in the Libyan city of Zuwara and supervised the transfer of Moroccan detainees from the Libyan city to Tunis, sources close to the families of the Moroccan detainees told Al Yaoum 24.
The stranded Moroccans are expected to arrive at Carthage airport in Tunisia this afternoon, where they will be waiting for two private planes, allocated by the Moroccan government to fly them to Morocco.
Previously, Abdelkarim Benatiq, the minister delegate in charge of Moroccans Living Abroad (MREs), has assured that the ministry is closely monitoring the situation of the Moroccans stranded in Libya.
Benatiq said on Monday during an oral questions and answer session at the House of Representatives in Rabat that “the ministry is working with other departments to conduct what would be the second major repatriation operation.”
Moroccan authorities conducted the first operation in August, which brought back about 200 citizens in two private aircrafts.
King Mohammed VI also gave his orders to both the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and of MREs to keep watch on the situation of the Moroccans stranded in Libya and find ways to return them back home.
Several videos filmed by the detained Moroccans have been widely shared on social media, showing the horrific conditions they were facing in the Libyan prisons. The trapped migrants cry for help and urge the Moroccan government to find concrete measures to take them back home.
After the videos went viral, the Ministry in charge of MREs said on its Facebook account on November 15 that it was working to repatriate the Moroccans.
