Fresh fighting in the New Year triggers displacement in Libya
The displacement has been centred around Benghazi, Derna, and near the Gulf of Sidra in Ben Jawad and Ras Lanuf. Some 400,000 people are displaced across Libya.
GENEVA, January 15 (UNHCR) - The UN refugee agency on Friday reported that stepped up fighting in Benghazi and other towns and cities in eastern Libya since the start of the year has sparked fresh displacement.
The displacement has been centred around Benghazi, Derna, and near the Gulf of Sidra in Ben Jawad and Ras Lanuf. Many people have had to flee for a fourth or fifth time, making numbers hard to estimate, but in Benghazi alone the local council is reporting that around 90,000 people are unable to return home.
UNHCR estimates that the fresh displacement brings the number of internally displaced people across Libya to about 400,000. In addition, Libya is host to nearly 37,000 refugees and asylum-seekers of different nationalities whose humanitarian conditions are increasingly precarious.
Near the national capital Tripoli in the west, NGOs and the local council estimate more than 83,200 people are living in settlements, schools and abandoned buildings. Many are unable to access health care or education for their children. A significant number have limited ability to access cash for food.
Most have been displaced for three to six months with increasing numbers being hosted in public facilities such as schools. As their cash savings dwindle they are unable to pay for housing rental. The current winter months are especially tough as temperatures in Tripoli, Benghazi and southern towns are below 10 degrees Celsius.
In south-west Libya, internally displaced people from the town of Awbari are facing difficulties in their daily lives as services have been severely disrupted by fighting between rival tribal groups. The current fighting has meant that schools, hospitals and markets remain completely inaccessible.
Shortages of fuel, electricity, water and food are being reported by local crisis committees and NGOs who say some 18,500 people from Awbari are currently displaced in six towns: Sabha, Wadi Shati, Jufra, Ghat, Murzuq and Lewenat.
In the past seven months, UNHCR has distributed aid item to almost 28,000 people in Tripoli and other western cities, including to members of the Tawerghan community displaced since 2011. On January 5, in partnership with the Tomazeen NGO in Libya, UNHCR delivered sleeping mats, plastic sheets and kitchen sets to 150 displaced families in the southern towns of Ghat, Lawenat and Tahala.
Related news and stories
AU, EU and UN push for urgent action to address the pressing needs of migrants and refugees in Libya
Insecurity and COVID-19 fuel refugee mental health concerns in Libya
Repaired Benghazi home brings comfort after loss and displacement
Libya: Returning Home in Dignity
Refugee women scale Atlas mountain to tackle gender violence
Libya: First evacuation flight to Niger in over a year brings 172 asylum-seekers to safety
Your search for « Libya » matched 2133 results. Only the first 1,000 results are displayed. Displaying page 26 of 112 pages.
-
Exodus of Berbers to southern Tunisia interrupted by border clashes
29 Apr 2011 ... RAS ADJIR, Tunisia, April 29 (UNHCR) - Fighting for control of a crossing point on the Tunisia-Libya border appears to have interrupted the exodus of civilians fleeing from Libya's Western Mountains. ...... -
Rescue boat scours sea for flimsy craft
31 Jan 2017 ... THE PHOENIX – It was a calm morning on board the rescue vessel Phoenix off the coast of Libya. ... Fabrizio from Malta on MOAS boat off Libya The second phase of the Phoenix’s operation involved ...... -
Sudanese provides safe haven to fellow refugees in Libya
4 Mar 2020 ... Then aged only 19 and afraid for his life, he made it across the border to Libya on his own, leaving ... Now 35, Osman remembers the desperation he felt as a newly arrived refugee in Libya and vowed to ...... -
New UNHCR evacuation of refugees from Libya to Italy, as Tripoli fighting continues
12 Sep 2019 ... A group of 98 vulnerable refugees have been today evacuated out of Libya to Italy, the third direct humanitarian evacuation to the country this year. With Libya continuing to suffer under conflict, ...... -
Cross-border aid reaches 12,000 displaced civilians in western Libya
18 Aug 2014 ... The UN refugee agency has for the first time begun sending aid into western Libya from Tunisia to help some of the tens of thousands of people displaced by weeks of fighting in the Libyan capital, Tripoli. ...... -
Fresh fighting in the New Year triggers displacement in Libya
16 Jan 2015 ... other towns and cities in eastern Libya since the start of the year has sparked fresh displacement. ... number of internally displaced people across Libya to about 400,000. In addition, Libya is host to ...... -
UNHCR and partners help sea crossing survivors in Libya detention centres
28 Apr 2015 ... been assisting hundreds of people in Libya rescued at sea or intercepted by the coastguard. UNHCR has been able to help some of the 1,242 people picked up in Libyan waters and mostly taken to ...... -
UNHCR secures release of 96 detainees from Libya's Zintan detention centre
4 Jun 2019 ... off the coast of Libya, faster than the rate at which people are being evacuated. More people (1,224) were returned to Libya by the Libyan Coast Guard in May alone than in the rest of 2019 combined. ...... -
UNHCR evacuates hundreds of detained refugees in Libya to safety
24 Apr 2019 ... Brook, UNHCR Deputy Chief of Mission in Libya. “It is vital that refugees in danger can be ... The relocation was carried out with support from the Libyan authorities, UN Support Mission in Libya ......