African Union plans to bring 20,000 stranded migrants home from Libya

The African Union (AU) has upped its goal to repatriate stranded migrants from Libya, saying that it aims to bring 20,000 Africans home in the next six weeks. Pressure has grown on the continental body and individual African states to get their citizens out of Libya after CNN showed Africans being sold as slaves in the north African country, AFP said. The AU had earlier said it wanted to repatriate 15,000 migrants by year’s end. However, it increased its goal after a task force – including AU, EU and UN officials – met earlier this week. The group is also working to organize consular services for stranded migrants and landing rights for airlines that can fly migrants out of Libya.