FILE PHOTO: Illegal African migrants arrive at Mitiga International Airport before their voluntary return to their countries, east of Tripoli, Libya, March 23, 2017. REUTERS/Ismail Zitouny/File Photo
TUNIS (Reuters) - Up to 10,000 migrants stranded in Libya will be flown back to their home countries this year, but the returns can only play a limited role in tackling migrant flows towards Europe, the head of the U.N. migration agency's Libyan office said.
The International Organization for Migration programme is one of the few ways EU states can fund action inside lawless Libya, which has become the main migration departure point for Europe, as they scramble to stem record flows across the central Mediterranean.
