The 20 young people were the first of 440 to leave the west African state to take up a variety of roles, including as security guards, drivers and mechanics.

The rest are due to leave Sierra Leone on Friday to take up the two-year contracts after being recruited by US firm Sabre International.

An official from the Sierra Leone ministry of labour, which coordinated the programme, said those taking up the jobs had undergone "rigorous training" in preparation.

They had participated in "security operations in Freetown about two weeks ago to prepare them for the dangerous terrain" they would encounter, the official said.

The Islamist insurgency in Afghanistan is now at its deadliest since US-led troops ousted the Taliban regime in 2001, and Iraq remains volatile after years of conflict following the 2003 US-led invasion.

Sierra Leone is itself struggling to recover from a decade of civil war which ended in 2001, and left 120,000 people dead.

According to the United Nations Development Programme, 76 percent of the country's population lives on less than two dollars (1.4 euros) a day.

Iraq exploiting hundreds of migrants: IOM
Geneva (AFP) Dec 15, 2009 - Hundreds of African and Asian migrants in Iraq are being exploited and blocked from leaving the country due to lack of funds for repatriation, the International Organisation for Migration said Tuesday.

Spokeswoman Jemini Pandya said the IOM was "urgently seeking 2.5 million dollars to help up to 700 destitute migrants, some of whom have been trafficked to Iraq for labour exploitation."

"Over the last six years, the IOM has helped over 7,000 migrants of some 40 different nationalities, but due to lack of funds, only 32 have been rescued in 2009," explained Pandya.

Many migrants were attracted to Iraq by the promise of well-paid employment in construction, joinery or as domestic staff.

"Migrants from countries like Bangladesh, Pakistan and Uganda are often coerced to sign false employment contracts once in Iraq. Their passports are confiscated and they become victims of exploitation and abuse, working in inhumane conditions," Pandya said.

"Others had used recruitment agents to go to the Middle East or the Gulf but ended up in Iraq against their will."

For the many Sudanese migrants living in Iraq for years, "the deterioration in employment conditions has left them penniless with few opportunities, poor guarantees and no means to return home," Pandya added.

The spokeswoman also quoted the head of the IOM mission in Iraq, Mike Pillinger, who said it was "impossible to get a really clear picture on numbers of migrants needing help as many are too scared to try and seek help because of possible repercussions."

"Life for Iraqis is difficult," Pandya said, but "it is worse for migrants."

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