EU, IOM help hundreds of West African migrants return home from Libya

Hundreds of West African migrants who had been stranded in Libya are returning home as governments repatriate them following outrage over slave auctions, AP said.

Another 164 migrants returned to Nigeria early on Friday. It is the latest group to be repatriated with help from the EU and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The first 504 migrants from neighboring Niger, including children, returned home on Wednesday, as part of an expected mass voluntary evacuation of 3,850 people over the coming days, according to the UN migration agency.

The African Union aims to return 20,000 migrants from Libya over the next six weeks.