Rwanda, in partnership with the UN refugee agency (UNCHR), on Thursday, September 26, received the nineteenth group of 119 refugees and asylum seekers from Libya.

This was under a memorandum of understanding to set up an emergency transit mechanism (ETM) for evacuating refugees and asylum seekers out of Libya. The ETM aims at providing life-saving protection, assistance and long-term solutions to extremely vulnerable refugees trapped in detention in Libya, through temporary evacuation to Rwanda.

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The latest group of arrivals comprises five nationalities: 41 Sudanese, 36 Eritreans, 12 Somalis, 17 Ethiopians, and 13 South Sudan nationals.

They will be accompanied and hosted at Gashora Transit Centre in Bugesera District, according to the

Ministry in charge of Emergency Management (MINEMA)

Philippe Habinshuti, the Permanent Secretary at MINEMA, said that upon their arrival, priority is ensuring that they feel safe after the struggles they endured in Libya.

"Afterward, in collaboration with partners and stakeholders, we begin working toward a durable solution where they are presented with two main options. Some can choose to continue their journey to a third country, while others may opt to stay in Rwanda and integrate as refugees, becoming part of the Rwandan community,” he said.

"They also have the option of returning to their countries of origin. Our role is to facilitate this process and help them find lasting solutions.”

The eighteenth group of 113 refugees that included individuals from South Sudan, Eritrea, Sudan, Ethiopia, Ivory Coast, and Somalia, landed in Kigali on June 14.

Belen Calvo Uyarra, the European Union envoy in Rwanda, said that the EU contributed Euros 22 million to support the mechanism in Rwanda.

"We also provided support to a similar initiative in Niger, which is now being addressed. As for the Rwandan mechanism, we are considering an additional 11 million euros in support over the coming years,” she said

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The first group of 66 refugees and asylum seekers from Libya arrived in Rwanda in September 2019. Since then, more than 2,400 others have been received and 1,835 among them were resettled to third countries.