Five Nigerians were among the 35 women captured by the Islamic State fighters in Sirte, Libya and turned into sex slaves for months.
The Nigerians and 28 Eritreans, were freed by Libyan forces last December and then made to face another spell of detention in a Misrata prison.
They had escaped from Sirte, a former Islamic State stronghold in central Libya, while forces from the nearby city of Misrata battled to oust the militants, Rueters reports.
Some of the women were on their way to Europe when Islamic State fighters kidnapped and held them as sex slaves.
After they escaped from Sirte, they were investigated for possible ties to the group and held for several months in a Misrata prison.
The women recounted how the group forced them to convert to Islam and sold them as sex slaves.
On Wednesday, they were received by staff from the UN refugee agency (UNHCR) and the Libyan Red Crescent, before being taken to a shelter for medical checks.
“I’m very happy, I can’t describe how I feel, but I am very happy, I can start a new life and see my family again,” one 14-year-old Eritrean girl told Reuters.
A UNHCR official said the entire group had scabies, but otherwise appeared to be in reasonable physical condition.
“We will send them to a safe house where they can be treated if they need medical treatment, and receive assistance from us, and be protected,” said Samer Haddadin, head of the UNHCR’s Libya mission.
“At the same time we will be processing them for refugee status determinatio and we are doing this to make sure we can find a resettlement country for those who meet the resettlement criteria.”
The Nigerians, five women and two children, will be able to apply for asylum or be offered repatriation.
Dozens of women and children who escaped from Sirte or were picked up there by Libyan forces are still being held in Misrata.
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