Sweden has carried out a deportation operation involving 90 Somali nationals who were flown to Mogadishu from Sweden, Norway and Finland, according to Swedish media reports.
Among those deported were 22-year-old twins Najib and Caalya, who spoke to Alkompis just hours before their removal, expressing fears of being forced to leave Sweden and separated from their mother and other family members.
According to Swedish outlet Dagens ETC, the operation was conducted by the European Border and Coast Guard Agency, Frontex, in cooperation with Swedish border police.
The deportees were transferred from an immigration detention facility to Stockholm’s Arlanda Airport before being flown to Somalia.
Also among those deported was Zakariya, a father of five who had spent several months in immigration detention awaiting a decision on his immigration status.
The operation took place amid growing political debate in Sweden over the deportation of young people.
All political parties represented in the Swedish parliament had backed a proposal to examine the possibility of suspending such deportations. However, the Swedish Migration Agency said it was awaiting a formal decision before halting the operations.
Dagens ETC reported that an earlier attempt to deport the twins had been unsuccessful after fellow passengers aboard the aircraft protested against their removal.
In 2023, Sweden and Somalia entered into an agreement to strengthen cooperation on the deportation and repatriation of Somali nationals. Swedish Radio previously reported that the arrangement was linked to financial assistance worth more than 100 million Swedish kronor, with part of the cooperation tied to Somalia’s acceptance of its nationals being deported from Sweden.
The agreement sparked criticism over the linking of development assistance to immigration enforcement, raising concerns about transparency and the safeguards governing the use of the funds.
The latest deportation operation has renewed attention on Sweden’s immigration policies and the challenges facing Somali nationals whose applications to remain in the country have been rejected.
Mustaqbal
