Some 2,500 Sub-Saharan Africans back home since start of year (National Guard) [Upd 1]

Tunis: Almost 2,500 sub-Saharan Africans had voluntarily returned to their countries since the start of the year, the Directorate General of the National Guard said Saturday. Several undocumented sub-Saharan African migrants have turned to police and National Guard for help from migration organisations operating in Tunisia for repatriation, read a National Guard press release. Coordination was established with diplomatic representations of migrants and a strategic plan was put in place to ensure their return to their countries of origin, including a flight last May 9 to an African country with 166 undocumented migrants on board. The voluntary return of migrants is carried out in 3 stages: reception by law-enforcement personnel, registration of volunteers then contact with the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) to facilitate their return, and finally coordination with the border police to set flight times. Source: Agence Tunis Afrique Presse