adminconditions have been evacuated and are on their way to Chad, the International Organisation for Migration said yesterday.
The group, half of whom are Chadian, were among up to 3 000 migrants stranded in Sabha due to fighting, the agency said.
Interim government forces overthrew forces loyal to deposed leader Muammar Gaddafi there nearly two weeks ago.
“A convoy of 15 trucks with 1 206 migrants left Sabha on Sunday for Gatroun and is now en route to Chad,” IOM spokeswoman Jemini Pandya told Reuters.
“This is the first really big group. We have negotiated safe passage for them,” she added.
Libyans ended Gaddafi’s 42-year rule in August when rebel fighters stormed the capital.
Gaddafi and several of his sons are still at large and his supporters hold Sirte and the town of Bani Walid, south of Tripoli.
The sub-Saharan migrants, who feared being caught in the crossfire in Sabha, had also been victims of harassment and discrimination, sometimes accused of being foreign mercenaries backing loyalist forces, according to the Geneva-based agency.
Those evacuated include a large number from Nigeria, as well as migrants from nine other countries — Burkina Faso, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gambia, Mali, Morocco, Senegal, Somalia and Sudan, she said.
Women and children are among the group. The operation is financed by the European Community’s Humanitarian Aid and Civil Protection Office, as well as the US and German governments, the IOM said. – Reuters.
Online Reporter