By Clement Bonnerot
DAKAR, April 17 (Reuters) - The first migrants deported from the United States under a recent bilateral agreement arrived in Democratic Republic of Congo early on Friday, according to one of the migrants, a lawyer in contact with the group and two airport sources.
The plane carrying the deportees — from Colombia, Peru and Ecuador — landed in Kinshasa at around 1 a.m. (0000 GMT), flight tracking data showed.
A Colombian woman among the group, who spoke to Reuters, said there were 16 migrants — nine men and seven women. An airport source put the number of arrivals at 15.
Congo's interior ministry and a spokesperson for the Congolese presidency did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Reuters reported on Wednesday that more than 30 migrants were expected to be deported to Congo this week.
Alma David, a U.S.-based lawyer representing one of the migrants, said the lower number of arrivals could be due to last-minute interventions by U.S. federal judges. She said she was aware of at least three cases in which judges halted removals.
It is unclear how many people could ultimately be deported under the agreement between Washington and Kinshasa, announced on April 5.
'VERY LONG' JOURNEY, MIGRANT SAYS
"The flight was very calm. They treated us well and gave us enough food," said the Colombian migrant, who spoke on condition of anonymity for safety reasons.
"It was very long, around 26 or 27 hours."
Flight tracking data showed the plane departed from Alexandria, Louisiana, stopping in Dakar, Senegal, and Accra, Ghana, before reaching Kinshasa.
It is the first transfer of so-called third-country deportees to Congo, a country grappling with widespread insecurity, displacement and a fragile asylum system.
The deportation agreement coincides with the Trump administration's efforts to implement a U.S.-brokered peace deal between Congo and Rwanda aimed at ending fighting with Rwanda-backed M23 rebels in eastern Congo that has killed thousands and displaced hundreds of thousands more.
It also follows the signing of a strategic partnership granting the United States preferential access to Congo's critical minerals.
Once in Congo, the deportees were told they had been granted a seven-day visa allowing them to move freely in the country, which could be extended for up to three months, the Colombian migrant said.
The group was also informed that they were welcome to apply for asylum in Congo, though officials discouraged them from doing so, warning Congo was dangerous, the migrant said.
(Reporting by Clement Bonnerot; Additional reporting by Robbie Corey-Boulet in Dakar and Ange Adihe Kasongo; Editing by Ros Russell)
