+20 Iraqis brought home from Libya through embassy effort
Shafaq News – Tripoli / Baghdad
Iraq’s Embassy in Libya has repatriated 25 Iraqi migrants who had entered the country illegally, Acting Ambassador Ahmed al-Sahhaf announced on Thursday.
In a statement, al-Sahhaf clarified that the group was returned under the embassy’s ongoing voluntary return program, adding that since its reopening, the mission has facilitated the repatriation of about 150 Iraqis and provided humanitarian support including food, medical care, and regular contact with their families.
Procedures, he added, are underway to repatriate 12 more Iraqis currently in Misrata, about 250 kilometers east of Tripoli, after a consular team visited them on November 4 to assess their situation and finalize travel arrangements.
Read more: A one-way ticket: Iraq's youth bet it all on a migration gamble
Libya remains a key departure point for migrants attempting to cross the Mediterranean to Europe. The International Organization for Migration (IOM) recorded nearly 895,000 migrants from 45 nationalities across 100 Libyan municipalities between May and July 2025, including a growing number of Iraqis. Rights groups warn that many are detained by armed groups or traffickers in western Libya, while families in Iraq have lost contact with their relatives for months.
