A group o 152 sub-saharan Africans will be leaving Malta to embark on a new life in Germany on Tuesday.

All had arrived in Malta after the outbreak of the crisis in Libya. They are 43 men, 73 women and 36 children from Somalia, Eritrea, Ethiopia and Sudan.

Most of them already have family ties in Germany.

In recent months the refugees participated in "cultural orientation courses" and received information about life in Germany.

Basic German language courses were offered and the German community in Malta donated warm winter clothing.

The refugees will be flown to Nuremberg on a charter flight and from there they will be allocated to different areas in the Germany.

Their first targets will be to learn German, take part in integration courses and find an appropriate job. During this transitional period they will be accommodated and financially supported.

In the last two years some 81,000 asylum seekers arrived in Germany. Some 300 refugees were relocated to Germany from Malta in recent years.