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Conakry On 3 August, 132 Guinean migrants, including six unaccompanied children, returned voluntarily to Guinea from Libya with the support of IOM, the UN Migration Agency, in collaboration with Guinean and Libyan authorities.

William Lacy Swing, IOM Director General, who was in Libya at the time, saw them off at Tripolis Mitiga Airport on Thursday. The returnees arrived in Conakry that same evening.

Many of these migrants just really want to go home, said Ambassador Swing from the airport tarmac. We have voluntarily returned nearly 6,000 people so far this year and we hope to have helped at least 12,00015,000 migrants get home safely from Libya through voluntary humanitarian return assistance by the end of 2017.

Prior to departure, IOM Libya conducted interviews and medical checkups with the migrants. They also received additional assistance, such as kits containing clothes and shoes.

At Conakry airport, the returnees were welcomed by teams from IOM, the National Service for Humanitarian Actions (SENAH), the Red Cross, representatives of the Ministry in charge of Guineans Living Abroad, and of the Ministry of Social Affairs. Apart from providing psychosocial support, IOM interviewed the returnees to obtain deeper insight into the profile of irregular migrants why they left their country, their migratory pathway and living conditions in Libya. Among the migrants assisted, three patients received medical assistance from the Red Cross upon arrival at Conakry. The three were then transferred by ambulance to a medical facility in a special unit prepared for returning migrants.

Further support will be provided as part of the IOM programme, Enhancement of Migration Governance and Support for the Sustainable Reintegration of Migrants in the Republic of Guinea funded by the European Union.

Several returnees were interviewed, including Habib*, who had been working as a tailor in Libya for the last five years and owned a sewing workshop with his two brothers. He recounted how a police officer came over one day and asked him to adjust a uniform that was too large. The outfit was so large that Habib explained to him it was impossible. The officer lost his temper, stabbed Habib and ordered his imprisonment.

Amadou* left for Italy in one of five boats that set sail at the same time. Once they entered international waters, they were intercepted and captured by robbers/bandits. The sea was so rough that one of the boats capsized and sank with roughly 150 persons on board, most of whom were Guineans.

Mamadou* (14 years old) had left Bok several months earlier with money from a motor bike he had sold. His family had thought he was dead but some Guinean returning migrants told them he was at the Ghryian detention centre. IOM teams in Guinea and Libya joined efforts to locate and identify Mamadou. His family recognized him from a photograph taken by IOM at the detention centre. His elder brother came to meet him at the airport.

From 1 January to 19 July, IOM helped 5,546 migrants, 17 per cent of whom were women, return from Libya to their countries of origin. Three-quarters of these returnees had been held in detention centres. 2,221 were eligible for reintegration assistance. So far since January 2017, IOM has organized six flights of this nature from Libya to Guinea. These numbers of people returning add to other Guinean returnees from Benin, Cameroon, Egypt, Morocco and Niger.

The programme, Enhancement of Migration Governance and Support for the Sustainable Reintegration of Migrants in the Republic of Guinea was launched in April 2017 for a three-year period covering six administrative regions of Guinea: Conakry, Bok, Mamou, Lab, Kankan and NZrkor. Under this project, IOM Guinea will support returning migrants, depending on their profiles and needs, by facilitating the creation of a small business, involving them in a collective and/or community business initiative, or providing them with vocational training.

*The names of the migrants have been changed to protect their privacy.

For more information, please contact Lucas Chandellier, at IOM Guinea, Tel: +224 628 33 86 53, E-mail: lchandellier@iom.int

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132 Guinean Migrants Return Home Safely from Libya with UN Migration Agency Help - ReliefWeb

The Libyan coastguard recovered more than 1000 migrants floating in wooden and rubber boats in the Mediterranean Sea over the past few days and returned them to the Libyan coast.

Since Friday, 1124 people have been saved, the International Organization for Migration said on Monday.

The Italian government decided in July to launch a naval mission providing technical and logistical support to the Libyan coastguard, a move seen as a potential game changer in Europe's quest to stop sea migration from North Africa.

In the latest rescue mission, 155 people, including 18 women and 10 children, were rescued on Monday morning near the capital city of Tripoli.

The migrants came from several countries, including Morocco, Tunisia, Algeria and Sudan as well as sub-Saharan Africa and Syria, according to Italian media reports.

Libya has been in disarray since the NATO-backed ouster of former leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011. Lawlessness in the former Italian colony has been a major factor in fuelling the migrant trafficking trade.

Around 114,000 migrants have landed in southern Europe since the start of the year, and about 82 per cent ended up in Italy, according to data from the IOM last month. Nearly all of them set sail from Libya.

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More than 1000 migrants sent back to Libya - NEWS.com.au

BENGHAZI, Libya/TUNIS (Reuters) - Residents of Derna in east Libya say they are facing critical shortages after Khalifa Haftar's Libyan National Army (LNA) tightened its longstanding siege around the city last week.

Haftar's eastern-based LNA, one of a number of factions that have vied for power in Libya since a 2011 uprising ended Muammar Gaddafi's four-decade rule, is waging a military campaign against a coalition of Islamist militants and ex-rebels known as the Derna Mujahideen Shura Council (DMSC) that controls Derna.

Attention has shifted to the coastal city after Haftar announced victory in a three-year military campaign against a similar coalition in Benghazi, 350 km (210 miles) to the west, a month ago.

The LNA launches occasional air strikes over Derna and at the end of July, one of its fighter jets was shot down. The pilot was killed. The LNA subsequently reinforced its siege.

"The situation is extremely bad. Everything is stopped, the supplies are depleted and nothing is getting into the city," one resident told Reuters by telephone.

"There is a total blockade with no entry or exit. They only allow you to leave as a displaced person."

Another resident said most bakeries had closed because of a shortage of fuel, and that petrol stations had been shut for eight months. There was an acute shortage of medicine, he said, though some oxygen tanks were delivered to a hospital in Derna on Monday.

The United Nations humanitarian coordinator for Libya has expressed concern over reports of "severe shortages of basic necessities, including life saving medical supplies" in Derna, while the U.N.-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) in Tripoli called on all sides to "facilitate ways to provide for all the needs of the citizens".

The LNA is aligned with a parliament and government based in the eastern Libya that has spurned the GNA.

Haftar and the head of the GNA met in Paris in late July amid efforts to broker a peace settlement for Libya. A ceasefire was announced, though it excluded "counter-terrorism" operations. The LNA commonly brands its rivals as terrorists.

Derna has a history of militancy. It was occupied by Islamic State militants in late 2014, but they were later ousted by the DMSC. Since then, forces loyal to the LNA have bolstered their blockade. Supplies of food, cash and medicine were disrupted or confiscated even before the latest tightening of the siege.

The LNA says it has been hitting militant targets that it has identified on the outskirts of in Derna, including ammunition stores. It says it is preparing to use further strikes if peace efforts with local leaders fail.

In May, the city was also a target of Egyptian air strikes. Egypt said it was responding to an attack against Coptic Christians on its territory, though that attack was claimed by Islamic State.

Haftar, a figure many believe is seeking national power in Libya, has enjoyed strong backing from Egyptian President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi, as well as the United Arab Emirates.

Western envoys have met Haftar frequently in recent months, and say he has to be part of any solution to Libya's conflict.

Additional reporting by Ahmed Elumami; Writing by Aidan Lewis; Editing by Robin Pomeroy

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East Libyan city suffers as military forces tighten siege - Reuters

Libyas biggest oil field Sharara is back to normal after a disruption caused by protests in the politically fragmented country,the state National Oil Corp. said.

Pumping was interrupted for hours after armed protesters shut some facilities, the NOC said in a statement. The company didnt give an updated figure for production at the field, nor did it explain what caused the disturbances or say who the protesters represent. Sharara in western Libya was producing 275,000 barrels a day as of July 12, a person with knowledge of the situation said at the time.

The field,operated by a joint venture between Libyas state producer and Repsol SA, Total SA, OMV AG and Statoil ASA, has experienced several brief shutdowns caused by different groups. It was closed for two days in June due to a protest by workers there.

Grievances and personal demands cannot be settled through causing harm to the entire population,NOC Chairman Mustafa Sanallasaid Monday in the statement. The tactic of shutting down facilities is an unacceptable negotiation technique, said Sanalla, who has campaigned to end a rash of blockades at Libyas ports and fields since he assumed leadership of the company in May 2014.

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Libyas crude output and exports reached a fresh three-year high last month as fighting among armed militias abated and leaders of the countrys rival administrations agreed in principle on steps to unite the nation.The recovery inthe country with Africas largest crude reserves makes it harder for OPEC and allied oil-producing nations to curb a global supply surplus thats depressing prices for the commodity.

The North African producer shipped about 865,000 barrels a day of crude in July, tanker tracking data compiled by Bloomberg show. That was a gain of 11 percent from June, which was already the highest since at least July 2014.

The speed at which Libya can revive crude sales is critical for the oil market because, together with Nigeria, the nation wasnt bound by Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries supply restrictions that helped limit output this year. OPEC extended the cuts accord -- and Libyas exemption from it -- through March 2018.

Libya slid into chaos after the armed uprising that toppled and killed former strongman Muammar Qaddafi in 2011, with myriad armed groups and two administrations vying for control of the countrys energy facilities. Its rival leaders -- Prime Minister Fayez al-Serraj and Libyan National Army commander Khalifa Haftar -- agreed last month on calling for a cease-fire, combining the countrys divided oil company and armed forces, and holding elections as soon as possible.

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Libya's Largest Oil Field `Back to Normal' After Disruption - Bloomberg

SAN BENEDETTO DEL TRONTO, ITALY

Italian government ministers are becoming increasingly divided over risky naval efforts to curb the numbers of migrants who have landed at the countrys ports.

At issue what the mission should be for two Italian naval ships set to be deployed in Libyan waters. Several ministers object to the idea of Italian sailors turning back mainly sub-Saharan asylum-seekers either directly or indirectly in coordination with Libyan Coast Guard ships, some of whom are suspected of being in league with people smugglers.

The emerging cracks in the Italian government policy come as a ship leased to a far right anti-migrant group started to shadow refugee-rescue vessels operated by humanitarian organizations, raising fears of a possible dangerous confrontation at sea with the far-right activists from Defend Europe.

The number of migrants who have arrived in Italy this year totals more than 95,000, although in the past two weeks the rate of arrivals has eased slightly. About 2,000 migrants attempting the sea crossing this year have drowned. In the past four years, about 600,000 migrants have arrived on Italian shores the majority of whom departed from Libya and made the hazardous journey across the Mediterranean Sea.

The mass influx has strained Italys emergency and humanitarian system almost to the breaking point and is a source of increasing political tension among Italys political parties. It is likely to dominate next years national elections and is worsening the electoral prospects of the center-left coalition government of Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni.

Last week, parliament approved the limited Italian naval mission to help Libyas coast guard regulate the flow of migrants and prevent human trafficking. On Sunday, a leading opponent of the mission, Deputy Foreign Minister Mario Giro, said, Turning migrants back to Libya at this moment means returning them to hell.

His remarks were prompted by reports that on Saturday, Libya's Coast Guard announced it had recovered and saved more than 800 migrants near its coast. Giro says that returned migrants end up in detention centers in the hands of militias, who take advantage of them to do their business. He says just returning migrants to Libya wont alleviate a huge humanitarian crisis."

Giro, a member of the Sant'Egidio Community, an influential Catholic volunteer association, also defended NGOs, which are being blamed by populist parties and some in the government for acting as a collective pull factor for migrants by mounting rescue missions.

The NGOs have been accused of coordinating pick-ups with people smugglers something the humanitarian organizations vehemently deny. NGO heads say they are merely doing what European governments should be doing more of rescuing migrants at risk of drowning. NGOs are now responsible for picking up more than 40 percent of those rescued at sea.

The head of Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors Without Borders), Tommaso Fabbri, says, The responsibility to organize and conduct search and rescue operations at sea lies as it always has with states. As such, our current rescue activities are simply filling the void left by Europe.

Last month, the government of Italy introduced a code of conduct restricting what refugee-rescue charities are allowed to do, if they want to land migrants at Italian ports. Among other requirements, they are to refrain from patrolling within Libyas territorial waters.

Only three out of eight NGOs operating in the southern Mediterranean have agreed to the Italian terms. A vessel operated by the German NGO Jugend Rettet was seized last week off the coast of the island of Lampedusa by Italian coast guard vessels for breaching the code and the ship has now been impounded while investigations continue.

Giro is seen by the Italian media as the spokesman for an influential group of parliamentarians featuring left-wingers and Catholics. He acknowledges some NGOs subscribe to a no border ideology, a kind of humanitarian extremism, but he argues, In the face of the tragedy thats happening, I prefer humanitarian extremism to other types of extremism.

His views are in direct confrontation with former Communist and Interior Minister Marco Minniti, the exponent of a tough, security-focused line on migration.

The 61-year-old Minniti wants to close Italian ports to any NGOs failing to sign the code of conduct, a proposal frowned on by transport minister Graziano Delrio. And he was the main exponent for the Italian naval mission after persuading Prime Minister Fayez Serraj, the head of an internationally recognized government in Libya, to welcome the mission.

The Italian naval mission to Libya is not only under threat from opposition within the Italian government. Now a Libyan warlord has threatened to bomb the Italian ships.

Minniti has warned that the Democratic Party and its coalition partners face electoral disaster next year, if they fail to take mounting public anger seriously and come up with ways to curb the flow of asylum-seekers, most of whom are economic migrants fleeing poverty, rather than refugees fleeing war.

Anti-migrant rage is obvious in slogans daubed in cities and even in towns that have been allotted only a few thousand migrants. In San Benedetto del Tronto, a seaside resort on Italys Adriatic coast, high-school students shocked their teachers in July by daubing across a large mural the slogan Stop The Immigration Business! The mural adapted an Edward Hopper painting, replacing a yellow hay field with a dark and stormy sea and a boat loaded with migrants.

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Cracks Appear in Italian Resolve Over Disputed Naval Mission Off Libya - Voice of America