Five Nigerians, including two children and 28 Eritreans rescued from Islamic State militia by Libyan forces last December in Sirte, have now been released by the Libyan authorities.

Reports suggest that the women were on their way to Europe when they were captured and turned into sex slaves by the militants.

After they escaped from their captors at Sirte following an offensive by the government forces, the women were further captured by the government forces and investigated for possible ties to the ISIS group and held for several months in a Misrata prison before they were released recently.

Reuters had reported that the Libyan attorney-general’s office earlier announced that it had cleared the women of any wrongdoing in mid-February, but their release was delayed for several more weeks, with no explanation.

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.