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Sierra Leone to take in hundreds of West Africans deported by US, minister says

Sowetan · · 403 words · By Reuters Agency
open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.sowetan.co.za/news/world/2026-05-16-sierra-leone-to-take-in-hundreds…

fact_checkFact-Check Results

8 claims extracted and verified against multiple sources including cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia.

verified Verified 3
check_circle Corroborated 3
info Single Source 2
verified
“Sierra Leone has agreed to take in hundreds of West African migrants being deported by the US”
VERIFIED
A Reuters report explicitly states that Sierra Leone's foreign minister told Reuters the country has agreed to take in hundreds of West African migrants being deported by the US.
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web search NEUTRAL — FREETOWN, May 16 (Reuters) - Sierra Leone has agreed to take in hundreds of West African migrants who are being deported by the United States, its foreign minister told Reuters, the latest such deal b…
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/sierra-leone-hundreds-we…
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web search NEUTRAL — West Africans deported by US to Ghana have all been sent to their home countries.Lawsuit says US held West African migrants in straitjackets for 16 hours on flight to Ghana.
https://news.google.com/stories/CAAqNggKIjBDQklTSGpvSmMzUnZj…
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web search NEUTRAL — The United States cannot unilaterally send deportation flights to other countries; there must be an established agreement with each nation to accept the deportation flights, and they must have diploma…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deportation_in_the_second_Trum…
verified
“The first flight of so-called third-country deportees will arrive in Sierra Leone on May 20, Timothy Kabba said, transporting 25 people from Senegal, Ghana, Guinea and Nigeria.”
VERIFIED
The Reuters report specifically quotes Timothy Kabba stating that the first flight of third-country deportees (25 nationals from Senegal, Ghana, Guinea, and Nigeria) would arrive on May 20.
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web search NEUTRAL — The first flight of so-called third-country deportees will arrive in Sierra Leone on May 20, Timothy Kabba said, transporting 25 nationals from Senegal, Ghana, Guinea and Nigeria.
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/sierra-leone-hundreds-we…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Waiting for an arriving flight? Check live arrivals at Changi Airport with up-to-date flight times, terminal details, baggage belt information and status.
https://www.changiairport.com/en/fly/flight-information/arri…
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web search NEUTRAL — The Trump administration has signed multimillion-dollar deals with foreign countries to accept non-citizen deportees.Paraguay’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs said in a statement on Tuesday that it will …
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/21/paraguay-plans-to-a…
verified
“Sierra Leone signed a third-country national agreement with the US to accept 300 Ecowas citizens from the US per year, with a maximum of 25 a month”
VERIFIED
The Reuters report directly quotes Timothy Kabba confirming the agreement to accept 300 ECOWAS citizens per year, with a maximum of 25 per month.
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web search NEUTRAL — • Per capita.ECOWAS nations signed a non-aggression protocol in 1990 along with two earlier agreements in 1978 and 1981. They also signed a Protocol on Mutual Defence Assistance in Freetown, Sierra Le…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ECOWAS
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web search NEUTRAL — “Sierra Leone signed a Third Country National Agreement with the U.S. to accept 300 ECOWAS citizens from the U.S. per year with a maximum of 25 a month," Kabba said, referring to the West African regi…
https://www.yahoo.com/news/articles/sierra-leone-hundreds-we…
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web search NEUTRAL — ECOWAS — the Economic Community of West African States — is a regional bloc set up to drive economic integration, free movement, and collective security across West Africa. It was founded on 28 May 19…
https://awajis.com/ecowas-member-nations/
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“The US has previously sent third-country deportees to African states, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ghana, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Eswatini”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources (Reuters, TRT Afrika, and a report on DRC) confirm that the US has previously deported third-country nationals to Ghana, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Eswatini.
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web search NEUTRAL — According to Reuters, “the United States has previously deported third-country nationals to African countries such as Ghana, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Eswatini, despite concerns over legal and …
https://evrimagaci.org/gpt/congo-prepares-to-receive-usdepor…
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web search NEUTRAL — The US has previously sent third-country deportees to African states including Ghana, Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea, and Eswatini.
https://www.trtafrika.com/english/article/7c76db920181
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web search NEUTRAL — The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) says it is expected to receive “third-country” nationals who have been deported from the United States under a new deal with the administration of US Preside…
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2026/4/5/dr-congo-to-receive-…
info
“Sierra Leone’s arrangement to accept only deportees from Ecowas countries is similar to Ghana’s.”
SINGLE SOURCE
While evidence shows Ghana has accepted third-country deportees and subsequently sent them home, there is no explicit confirmation in the provided evidence that Ghana's specific agreement is limited only to ECOWAS countries in a manner identical to Sierra Leone's.
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web search NEUTRAL — Another deportee from Gambia also claimed he was deported to Ghana before eventually being sent back to Gambia, where he said he is currently in hiding. The deportees have reportedly filed lawsuits in…
https://www.ghanaweb.com/GhanaHomePage/NewsArchive/Woman-who…
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web search NEUTRAL — Third-country deportation has also become part of a wider policy trend. Governments in different regions have increasingly tried to move asylum seekers, deportees, or protected migrants to other state…
https://www.visaverge.com/news/united-nations-warns-equatori…
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web search NEUTRAL — Many deportees have come from countries in Africa, Eastern Europe and Asia, where the U.S. authorities cannot easily send them back.“The United States is grateful for our friendship with the Dominican…
https://www.nytimes.com/2026/05/12/world/americas/dominican-…
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“deportees sent to Ghana, Equatorial Guinea and elsewhere on the continent have then been forced to return to their home countries despite receiving court-ordered protection in the US”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm this: The Guardian reports Equatorial Guinea refouled deportees back to home countries, and other reports mention deportees in Ghana being sent back to their home countries (e.g., Gambia) despite legal challenges.
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web search NEUTRAL — The country’s foreign ministry, interior ministry and immigration service did not respond to Reuters’ questions. Ghana’s interior ministry announced an investigation into Kuyateh’s treatment by immigr…
https://slguardian.org/dragged-deported-and-returned-to-dang…
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web search NEUTRAL — Over 17,500 third-country nationals have been deported by the U.S. to 21 different nations as of 2026. Legal protections like CAT and withholding of removal may not prevent transfers to unsafe third c…
https://www.visaverge.com/news/united-nations-warns-equatori…
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web search NEUTRAL — their home countries. Nonetheless, officials in Equatorial Guinea had already refouled several of them – including a west African man who had been persecuted for his sexual orientation.
https://www.theguardian.com/world/2026/may/14/un-equatorial-…
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“In a report published in February, Democrats on the Senate foreign relations committee said... more than $32m (R534m) had been sent directly to five countries — Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, El Salvador, Eswatini and Palau.”
CORROBORATED
This is reported by The Hindu and NEPYORK, citing a report from Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee regarding the $32 million sent to Equatorial Guinea, Rwanda, El Salvador, Eswatini, and Palau.
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web search NEUTRAL — Democrats on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee say the administration has rapidly expanded the use of deportations to “third countries” that are not a person’s home nation, transforming what was …
https://nepyork.com/2026/02/13/1-1-million-per-migrant-democ…
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web search NEUTRAL — The Democrats on the Foreign Relations panel, led by Sen.El Salvador has received about 250 Venezuelan nationals in March last year, while the other nations received far fewer deportees, ranging from …
https://www.thehindu.com/news/international/us-spent-40-mill…
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web search NEUTRAL — The report also criticizes Trump’s significant cuts to foreign aid, including efforts to dismantle USAID. This, they argue, has left the U.S. with fewer options to compete with China, which is now the…
https://edutimes.com/news/2025/07/20250760702
+ 1 more evidence source
info
“In 2017, during the first Trump administration, Washington said the US embassy in Freetown would deny tourist and business visas to Sierra Leonean foreign ministry and immigration officials because the government was refusing to take in Sierra Leonean deportees.”
SINGLE SOURCE
The provided evidence mentions visa restrictions imposed by the US Embassy in Freetown in 2020, but does not explicitly confirm the 2017 threat specifically linked to the refusal to take in Sierra Leonean deportees in the provided snippets.
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web search NEUTRAL — Two Sierra Leonean Women Arrested in Liberia with Drugs Hidden in their Underwear. Local. Africa.The United States Embassy in Sierra Leone has confirmed that K-1 fiancé visas remain unaffected by the …
https://www.sierraleonemonitor.com/embassy-clarification-vis…
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web search NEUTRAL — Sierra Leone, officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the west coast of West Africa. It is bordered to the southeast by Liberia and by Guinea to the north. Sierra Leone's land area is…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sierra_Leone
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web search NEUTRAL — The US Embassy in Freetown in September 2020 announced that it was discontinuing the issuing of immigrant and non-immigrant visas to Sierra Leonean Citizens with exceptions to those covered by what th…
https://politicosl.com/articles/u-s-partially-eases-visa-san…
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.