Friday, March 11, 2011

Over 600 Gambians in Violence Stricken Libyan Yearn Homecoming

Over six hundred Gambians are trapped in the troubled Libya yearning to return home, The Gambian foreign minister, Momodou Tangara told GRTS on Wednesday.
Over two hundred of them are already being hosted at the Senegalese embassy in Libya.
There have been mass departures of both foreigners and Libyan nationals since the peaceful anti-government protest turned into a civil war.
Protesters demanding for the end of Libyan leader Ghadafi’s 42-year despotic rule have been attacking foreign nationals, particularly Africans in the wake of reports that African mercenaries hired by Ghadafi are carrying out the carnage against them.
Twelve Gambians rescued by Morocco on Wednesday arrived home. They were among over 2, 000 foreigners, mostly Moroccans who were evacuated from Benghazi city in Libya and ferried to Morocco. They arrived in Morocco on Saturday.
The Gambian foreign minister said the arrangement for Morocco to take Gambians on board was bargained by President Yahya Jammeh.
He said his permanent secretary has joined The Gambian Liaison Officer in Libya to effect the evacuation of Gambians back home.
Minister Tangara said his government is also cooperating with Senegal to evacuate the citizens of both countries in Libya.
A major producer of oil, Libya serves as a gateway to Europe for thousands of greener pasture seekers. And those who face prolonged transit usually stay to engage mostly in menial work for both survival and to gather enough funds to proceed with the journey. 
Hundreds of thousands of foreigners are working and residing in the North African country, but it is not clear how many Gambians are residing there.
Meanwhile, the pro-democratic protest in Libya is among many that are sweeping in the Arab world, unseating two heads of state, Ben Ali of Tunisia and Hosni Mubarak of Egypt.
Self entrenched leaders of Yemen and Jordan are also struggling to keep their heads above the tie of the wave of protests for democratic reforms.

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