Mozambique: Cabo Delgado again registers influx of illegal immigrants – O País

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Mozambique: Cabo Delgado again registers influx of illegal immigrants – O País

4:12 CAT | 16 Dec 2020

FILE PHOTO - For illustration purposes only. [in file CoM]

Since the reopening of the borders previously closed due to Covid-19, Cabo Delgado is again registering massive inflows of illegal immigrants. In just one month, the Migration Service has intercepted 67 alleged illegal immigrants at Pemba Airport, in the provincial capital.

“A week ago, we intercepted 35 illegal immigrants, including 30 Pakistanis and five Ethiopians. This week, 32 were detained, 30 of them Somalis and two Ethiopians,” spokesman for the Cabo Delgado Immigration Services, Ivo Sampanha, revealed.

Even while being repatriated, some of those involved denied the illegality of their status and said that they were just visiting Pemba.

The 67 immigrants were questioned upon their arrival via international flights from Nairobi, Kenya. “They did not present entry visas or letters of invitation to certify that they were visiting someone who would be responsible for them. They had no financial means to stay in the country,” Sampanha said.

Those targeted claimed to be tourists, but had none of the requirements needed to qualify as such, he added.

Migration services say that around 500 illegal immigrants have been repatriated this year, as against the more than three million registered in 2019.

By Hizidine Achá

Source: O País