Desk Report:
A total of 165 irregular Bangladeshi citizens, including 143 people detained at the Ganfuda Detention Center in Benghazi, Libya, and 22 people living in Benghazi and adjacent areas who are distressed, helpless and physically ill, who wish to repatriate voluntarily, have been brought back to the country. They arrived in the country by flight on Friday (March 6, 2026) morning.
Officials of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the concerned ministries and the International Organization for Migration welcomed them at the airport. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs requested them to share their harrowing experience with everyone to raise public awareness. The International Organization for Migration provided them with travel expenses, some food items, first aid and temporary accommodation if necessary.
Most of the repatriated Bangladeshis are known to have entered Libya with the instigation and cooperation of human traffickers with the aim of illegally reaching Europe by sea. Many of them have been abducted and tortured in Libya at various times.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Bangladesh Embassy in Libya, the Ministry of Expatriates’ Welfare and Overseas Employment, and the International Organization for Migration are working together to arrange for the safe repatriation of Bangladeshi citizens detained in various detention centers in Libya.
