IOM helps return 720 stranded fishermen from Gabon

Some 720 Beninois fishermen and their families returned home from the Gabonese capital, Libreville over the past one week, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) said on Tuesday. The returnees were transported home a board a Belgian air force plane which made four trips between Libreville and Cadjehoun International airport in Benin's capital, Cotonou. The last trip that transported 184 people was on Monday, IOM spokesman Jean-Philippe Chauzy said. The organisation partly funded the operation which was carried out in cooperation with the authorities from Benin, Gabon and Belgium. "We allowed each person to take up to 50 kilogrammes of personal belongings so people would not return home empty handed. Their boats and fishing equipment have been stored in a safe place and will be returned at a later date, probably by the sea," IOM operations officer Pierre King said. According to IOM, the fishermen were left homeless after Gabonese authorities ordered the destruction of the illegal fishing settlements in which they lived in a coastal suburb of Libreville. The authorities reportedly said the settlements were razed and the occupants evicted to flush out criminals living there. The Benin Red Cross was taking care of the returnees in two schools, where they will receive temporary shelter and assistance from social services, IOM added.