The Armed Forces' decision to return a group of Somali immigrants to Libya has been described by the Migrants' Solidarity Movement as a "disgrace".

"The AFM, who claim to patrol the Maltese waters for any emergency which should arise, failed to live up to their duty and let the asylum seekers be sent back to Libya," the movement said in a statement.

It said Libya was not a safe port for asylum seekers since the country was not a signatory to the Geneva Convention for refugees, while the UNHCR office in Tripoli was recently closed.

"No asylum seeker in their right mind would want to venture back to Libya, clearly showing that people were taken back against their will."

The movement said the government seemed to forget that it was not dealing with "cargo" but with people, in this case Somalis whose country had been ravaged by war for the past 20 years.

"It is so sad that the government fails to see the disgrace of this incident and the irresponsibly of the AFM," the movement said.

The movement is an NGO formed two years ago to promote understanding and integration of immigrants in society and to combat xenophobia and racism.