Report: CAR to accept third-country deportees from US

Central African Republic is the latest African nation to agree to accept third-country deportees from the United States, according to Reuters news agency.

The deal was reportedly reached during a US delegation visit to Bangui last month. No details of numbers, nationalities, or timing of flights were available.

The Trump Administration had deported thousands of people to third countries under a series of often-secret agreements as part of a broader crackdown on immigration.

Lawyers say the use of third countries offers a legal loophole to indirectly force asylum seekers to return home.

At least eight African nations, including Eswatini, the DRC, Ghana and Sierra Leone have taken in US deportees, usually in exchange for financial or logistical support.

Last week, rights groups filed a case against Equatorial Guinea before Africa’s Human Rights Commission, accusing the government of forcing deportees back to their home countries in violation of their rights.