Rwanda receives164 more asylum seekers evacuated from Libya
Rwanda in partnership with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) late Wednesday received 164 asylum seekers and refugees evacuated from Libya, according to the UN agency and the Ministry in charge of Emergency Management.
The latest group brings the total to 2,924 people who have been evacuated to Rwanda since 2019, of which 2,585 have already been resettled to third countries, UNHCR data showed.
The new arrivals include individuals hailing from Eritrea, Ethiopia, South Sudan and the majority from Sudan, the ministry said in a post on X.
The majority of the evacuees, 143 individuals, are from Sudan ravaged by ongoing conflict, followed by Eritrea with 19.
The evacuees will be temporarily hosted at the Gashora transit center, in eastern Rwanda’s Bugesera District, from where they will wait for processing to relocate to other countries, according to the ministry.
The evacuation is in line with a 2019 memorandum of understanding Rwanda signed with UNHCR and the African Union under which a transit mechanism for refugees and asylum-seekers was set up to provide lifesaving protection, assistance and long-term solutions to vulnerable refugees trapped in Libya through a temporary evacuation to Rwanda.
