The Municipal Guards in Regdalin, situated in the north western coast of Libya, apprehended several Nigerian migrants infected with HIV and hepatitis B, according to a Tuesday statement.
During an inspection carried out by the guards on Friday and Saturday on commercial activities and the shops at Regdalin, the guards found several Nigerian migrants infected with the two fatal viruses.
In the past period, Libya’s monitoring entities, which organize the work of migrants, have been disrupted due to the political division in Libya, the deteriorating security situation and widespread crimes.
Thousands of migrants continue to cross Africa’s Sahel into Libya and then across the Central Mediterranean into Europe, driven by despair they face in their home countries, regardless of the challenges and risks they might face.
With being unable to enter Europe, namely Italy, due to the European Union’s migration policy or being rescued at the Mediterranean by the EU-backed Libyan Coast Guard, hundreds of migrants and refugees have returned to Libya and have been automatically placed in detention centers.
Hence, in recent months, there has been an alarming rise in the number of refugees and migrants intercepted at sea and returned to Libya, with the figure nearly doubling from 5,500 to 9,300 between 2017 and 2018.
Workers and migrants from neighbouring countries who enter Libya are said to have caused the spread of HIV/AIDS in Libya.
“The number of HIV/AIDS infected people in the country is estimated at 6,330,” spokesperson for the World Health Organization office in Libya Ahmed Salem al-Alligui declared in January 2017.
