By Zakaria Soohoyde - Reporter
MOGADISHU, Somalia, 15 September 2026 Somalia has repatriated 181 citizens from Libya with support from the European Union and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the National Commission for Refugees and Internally Displaced Persons (NCRI) said on Monday.
The returnees had been stranded in Libya and faced difficult conditions, according to the NCRI, which said the repatriation was part of efforts to ensure their safe and dignified return to Somalia.
Most of the returnees arrived at Aden Abdulle International Airport in Mogadishu, while 34 were transported to Hargeisa, according to the NCRI.
Some of the returnees had been brought from Sudan, while the majority had been in Libya, the commission said.
Officials from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Office of the Special Presidential Envoy for Migration and Children’s Rights, the NCRI, the EU and IOM welcomed the returnees at the airport.
The NCRI said the returnees were subsequently taken to one of its centres in Mogadishu, where they would receive temporary accommodation and essential services.
The commission said the services include food, healthcare, psychosocial and social support, as well as assistance in reconnecting with their families.
Liban Abdi Egal, chairman of the NCRI, said the commission had prepared accommodation and basic services for the returnees and would support them while they reconnect with their relatives.
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Hamza Adan Haadow, permanent director at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, urged Somali youth to avoid irregular migration, saying it exposed them and their families to hardship.
He also called on people involved in facilitating irregular migration to stop the practice.
Maryan Yasin Haji, the Special Presidential Envoy for Migration and Children’s Rights, welcomed the return of the Somali citizens and thanked the Somali leadership for supporting the repatriation effort.
The NCRI said the return and reintegration assistance was being carried out in cooperation with the Somali government, the EU and IOM.
The commission said the support was intended to help the returnees reunite with their families and resume their lives in Somalia after experiencing difficult conditions abroad.