97 refugees evacuated from Libya to Italy

(ANSA) - ROME, MAR 5 - A group of 97 vulnerable refugees arrived at Rome's Fiumicino airport from Tripoli on Tuesday under the terms of an agreement to evacuate 1,500 people in need of international protection from Libya to Italy in three years.
    The new arrivals include 55 women and 27 children and they are from Eritrea, Ethiopia, Central African Republic, Somalia, Sudan, South Sudan, Syria and Palestine.
    The group includes victims of trafficking and survivors of torture and gender-based violence and people with serious health conditions.
    Their arrival is the result of a new protocol signed in December by the interior and foreign ministries, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, ARCI and , the Community of Sant'Egidio, the Federation of Evangelical Churches and INMP.
    The refugees have been transferred to reception centres managed by ARCI and the Community of Sant'Egidio and will receive integration support including through language lessons and job market inclusion.
    Since 2017, UNHCR has evacuated or resettled 1,368 refugees and asylum seekers from Libya to Italy as part of efforts to promote and expand safe pathways allowing people in need of international protections to arrive in third countries in safety and dignity without risking their lives in dangerous sea crossings at the hands of unscrupulous traffickers. (ANSA).