UN says Somali migrants are heading to Mogadishu capital after returning voluntarily from Tanzania, where they had been detained.
UN Migration Agency (IOM), assisted up to 17 Somali migrants in returning voluntarily from Tanzania, as the migrants embarked on an unsuccessful journey to South Africa.
Tanzania’s Commissioner General of Immigration (CGI), Gerald Kihinga, has hailed latest efforts by IOM for its continuing support in managing migration.
Kihinga welcomed the collaboration and coordination between Tanzania and Somalia in attending to the increasing numbers of Somali migrants entering Tanzania irregularly.
IOM’s intervention was made under the auspices of the EU-IOM Joint Initiative for Migrant Protection and Reintegration in the Horn of Africa.
The latest return will bring the number of Somalis assisted by IOM under the EU-IOM Joint Initiative to 82 since March 2017.
Tthe EU-IOM Joint Initiative aims to assist at least 1000 Somali returnees before March 2020.
The assistance was provided in close coordination with the governments of Somalia and Tanzania and will enable the Somali returnees to build a future back home.
UN says the migrants will receieve medical check-ups, housing, group and psychosocial counselling, along with longer-term support towards developing job skills.
The EU-IOM Joint Initiative facilitates orderly, safe, regular and responsible migration management through the development of rights-based and development-focused procedures and processes on protection and sustainable reintegration.
Southern Africa is still a preferred destination for migrants from East and the Horn of Africa.
However, the southern route – largely to South Africa – also has its share of hazards, including the risk of arrest for those without the requisite documentation, or for those who overstay their welcome in the transit countries.
