South Sudanese migrants seen at a detention center in Libya, in this undated photo. | Courtesy.

The UN’s International Organization for Migration said it has started the verification and rescue process for over 3,000 South Sudanese migrants stranded in Libya to be repatriated back home.   

On March 20, the Minister of Labour James Hoth Mai told delegates at a regional meeting in Addis Ababa that there are over 3,000 South Sudanese nationals stranded in the North African country.

The South Sudanese nationals had wanted to cross to Europe by boat through the Mediterranean Sea to escape poverty and look for better life.

The dangerous route to Europe through the Libyan coast, has claimed lives of thousands of African migrants especially when the boats capsize.  

 Mohammed Abdiker, the IOM Regional Director for East and Horn of Africa, said his office has received a request from the South Sudan government to help facilitate the return of migrants stuck in Libya.

Mr. Mohammed was speaking to reporters on the sideline of a regional media workshop in the Kenyan capital Nairobi last week.

“We have a request from the government of South Sudan to help their citizens in Libya to come back home and we are working on that. The discussion going on is the verification of nationalities,” he said.

“So, the documentation and process discussion is ongoing between our IOM office in South Sudan, our IOM office in Libya, the government of South Sudan, and authorities in Libya itself so hopefully, very soon we will bring them back home.”

According to him, the South Sudanese migrants’ standard in Libya does not have legal documents.

“If you go to Libya, most of the migrants who go there don’t have their passports you don’t know if they are South Sudanese or if they are Sudanese or if they are Kenyans, there must be verification.”