For several weeks, the repatriation of migrants expelled from Algeria to Niger has been very slow, and the transit camps in the region are overwhelmed. As they face geopolitical upheavals, consular complications, and logistical difficulties, the patience of some migrants is put to the test. Mehdi Chebil reports for InfoMigrants.
Syria and Lebanon are about to launch a controversial repatriation program for "tens of thousands" of refugees who fled from war in Syria. Meanwhile, migrants who want to reach Europe continue to make use of the porous borders between the two countries.
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced that nearly 50,000 migrants have voluntarily returned to their countries of origin in 2021, an increase of 18% compared to 2020.
Recently, Lebanon and Turkey announced plans to send up to a million Syrians back home, claiming much of Syria is now safe. This is making some in the Syrian population nervous.
The German state of Bavaria is seeking to strengthen its reintegration support through the "Bavarian Return Program." So far, the program has supported over 3,400 people in their reintegration in their country of return.
Syrian refugees in Turkey are worried about Erdogan's plans to to relocate up to 1 million of them to "safe areas" inside Syria. Damascus is also unhappy, fearing a Turkish landgrab and the return of dissidents.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has expressed plans to send around one million Syrian refugees back to their country. The President said that the plans were at an "advanced" stage.
A new return and reintegration center was opened in Accra, the capital of Ghana, with support from Germany. It's one of several assistance facilities for migrants returning to Africa from Europe voluntarily.
The Cypriot interior minister said on Tuesday that the EU and its border agency Frontex have helped to streamline procedures to return rejected asylum seekers. The number of people arriving on the island nation lately has been soaring.
Two Nigerian migrants have taken a case against Italy and Libya to a UN Committee. The two women, with the help of a legal rights association in Italy, claim that Italy and Libya failed to protect their human rights as women and left them at risk of trafficking, exploitation and abuse.
The Lithuanian government says it flew 98 people back to Iraq over the weekend. It was the first chartered flight to return migrants who had entered from Belarus.
Lithuania has announced that migrants who agree to return to their countries of origin will be given €1,000, plus a plane ticket home. The amount has been increased from €300 to encourage more asylum seekers to leave voluntarily.