Rwanda, UNHCR extend deal to evacuate refugees from Libya

KIGALI — Rwanda, the African Union Commission and the UN refugee agency on Friday extended an agreement to take in African refugees stranded in Libya.

The September 2019 memorandum of understanding will be extended to December 31, 2025, according to a joint statement.

"The agreement reaffirms the commitment of all parties to provide protection and seek durable solutions for refugees and asylum-seekers evacuated from Libya," it said.

It said that more than 2,300 refugees and asylum seekers from Eritrea, Sudan, South Sudan, Somalia, Ethiopia, Nigeria, Chad, Cameroon, Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire and Mali had been evacuated since the MOU. Around 1,800 were resettled to third countries.

When announced in 2019, Rwanda was prepared to take in as many as 30,000 Africans from Libya.

The statement added the UNHCR would "continue to provide protection and required assistance, including shelter, food, healthcare, and other essential services for evacuees during their stay in Rwanda."

Libya struggled to recover from years of conflict after the 2011 NATO-backed uprising that overthrew longtime dictator Moamer Kadhafi, and remains divided between a UN-recognised government based in the capital Tripoli and a rival administration in the east.

The UN expressed concern earlier this month over the rapid deterioration of the economic and security situation in Libya.