Libya releases 174 more detained Bangladeshis

Another 174 Bangladeshis detained at the Qanfoodah (Qandouda) Detention Centre in Libya’s Benghazi have returned home.

They landed at Dhaka's Shahjalal International Airport at 6am on Tuesday, arriving on a Burak Air flight from Libya. Among them were three women, one child and 15 who were unwell.

The Bangladesh Embassy in Libya repatriated them safely, with support from the International Organization for Migration (IOM), according to media statement. The 174 had been trying to travel irregularly to Europe via the Mediterranean Sea, it said.

They were rescued off Libya’s coast and later held at different detention centres, with some spending a long stretch at Qanfoodah.

After completing procedures such as identity verification, document preparation and clearance from local authorities, arrangements were made to repatriate them.

Necessary support was arranged for them following their arrival in Dhaka on Tuesday morning, with particular attention being given to the 15 who are unwell, the embassy added.

Repatriation is continuing in phases, with officials coordinating regularly with local authorities and the IOM to move the process forward.

A separate batch of 340 Bangladeshis returned home from Libya on Aug 7, taking the total repatriated from detention centres there this month to 514, across two phases. -bdnews26