GENEVA: More than 30,000 Tunisian and Egyptian migrants have fled to their home countries from Libya since Monday, the IOM said Thursday, adding that it expects tens of thousands more to leave.
"The arrivals are increasing every day. We are at over 30,000 people since Monday," said Jean-Philippe Chauzy, spokesman for the International Organization for Migration.
"We can expect other arrivals, in the order of tens of thousands of people. That depends on the situation on the ground," he added.
About 15,000 of the returnees are Tunisians while the other half are Egyptians, said the IOM.
Egypt’s Supreme Council of the Armed Forces said Thursday morning that 25,547 have entered Egypt so far through the Salloum border crossing. It didn’t clarify if they were mostly Egyptian. Of these five Egyptians were injured and three were dead.
Chauzy said that people are also starting to arrive at the border with Niger.
"I confirm that 170 people arrived this morning at Dirkou and are lodged in an IOM center," he said, referring to the city in northeast Niger.
"Many are moving towards this border. We are expecting another 250 people during the day," he added.
In Tunis, a foreign ministry source said that some 8,500 Tunisians have been repatriated from Libya.
"Some 8,500 of our citizens have returned to the country, by air or land, since the beginning of violence" in Libya, said the source.
"Efforts to ensure the repatriation of a maximum of Tunisians are continuing due to a strong demand," the source added.
A boat with a capacity of 1,400 passengers is expected to travel to Benghazi from the port of Goulette in northern Tunisia to bring other Tunisians home, according to the state news agency TAP.
National carrier Tunisair also said it planned to repatriate 800 other Tunisians from Tripoli on Thursday.
The Tunisian community in Libya is estimated at 50,000. –Additional reporting by Daily News Egypt
