Kenya: Sixteen Kenyan women stranded in Tripoli, Libya for the last four months have appealed to the government to evacuate them.
They want to return home after Kenya closed its embassy in Libya due to the ongoing fighting.
The women were working in various fields in Tripoli but left their jobs following renewed conflict there.
“We have been camping at the closed embassy building hoping to get help in vain. Please ask the government to help us,” said one of the women.
The caller said one of the women gave birth last week and is living in deplorable condition at the building formerly used as the Kenyan embassy.
The women fear for their lives due to increasing insecurity posed by armed militia groups in Tripoli.
Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Diaspora ambassador Muburi Muita said the government is aware of the women’s situation and other Kenyans trapped in Libya.
He said they are liaising with international organisations and embassies to evacuate those trapped there.
“The main airport was bombed and fighting is still on but we finding ways to have them taken to neighbouring country like Egypt for easy evacuation,” said Muita.
He added that they were expecting two Kenyans to be evacuated Tuesday after they were taken to Egypt by road.
“The systems there are not working and the gangs are marauding all over. There are many other Kenyans trapped there,” he added.
The Kenyan mission in Tripoli was closed in July following approval of the Cabinet, which cited the continued political instability in the country since the ouster of Col Muammar Gaddafi.
Fierce fighting erupted in the Libyan city of Benghazi, as the army attempted to retake the area from Islamist militias.
Source-standardmedia.co.ke
16 Kenyan women stranded in Libya-seeks Govt help to return
