Nearly two months after reports emerged showing African migrants sold out as slaves in Libya, the African Union launched a repatriation operation that saw 13,000 migrants return to their homelands since last December. Speaking to the press, Chairperson of the African Union Commission, Mahamat Faki, noted that the number is still below the goal set by the Pan-African organization to airlift 20,000 migrants out of war-torn Libya by mid-January. The video, showing migrants referred to as “merchandise” sold off for $400, triggered a global outrage. The three organizations discussed concrete steps to address jointly the dramatic situation of migrants and refugees, victims of criminal networks, in particular inside Libya. Estimates from the United Nations put the number of migrants in Libya at 700,000.

Source: The North Africa Journal January 30, 2018 17:15 UTC