GENEVA >> The International Organization for Migration says more than 1,200 migrant workers and family members sheltering in the southern Libyan city of Sabha are being evacuated to Chad.

IOM chief of mission in Chad, Qasim Sufi, said today the group of people from 11 different nations are "extremely relieved" after enduring weeks of hardship and anxiety while trapped at a transit center in the embattled city.

Gunfire and fighting had prevented IOM from getting the group out of the center or bringing supplies to them in Sabha, which also lacks running water and electricity.

The group, including women and children, began leaving Sunday in a convoy of 15 trucks.

The journey to Chad is expected to take about a week.