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.
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Update No.29 on the humanitarian situation in Libya and the neighbouring countries
15 Jun 2011 ... 3 Update no 29 Humanitarian Situation in Libya and the Neighbouring Countries 15 June 2011 LIBYA An Inter-Cluster assessment mission composed of UNHCR (Shelter/NFI and Protection), WHO (Health), ...... -
Update No.30 on the humanitarian situation in Libya and the neighbouring countries
22 Jun 2011 ... 3 Update no 30 Humanitarian Situation in Libya and the Neighbouring Countries 22 June 2011 TUNISIA ... like Tunisia who have sheltered hundreds of thousands of people displaced by the violence in Libya. ...... -
UNDP Libya
27 Oct 2011 ... Address: 69/71 Turkiya Street Tripoli Libya Tel: +218 21 333 0852 or 56 Fax: +218 21 333 7349 Email: [email protected] Web: www.undp-libya.org... -
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2 Apr 2012 ... TRIPOLI, Libya, 02 April (UNHCR) - Hamda,* a mother of two, was beaten by smugglers, raped by armed men in Chad and jailed for a month in southern Libya. Twelve-year-old Abdul* ended up all on his own ...... -
Upsurge in Libya fighting triggers new displacement
16 Jan 2015 ... In Libya, an upsurge in fighting since the start of the year across several towns and cities in the ... This is just one of the areas of Libya seeing people in mass flight. Across the country we estimate ...... -
UNHCR and partners to help Libyans save lives at sea and improve corpse collection
18 Aug 2015 ... Libya's response to boats in distress off its coast by streamlining information sharing and coordination with international organizations. We hope the new contact group will boost Libya's ...... -
UNHCR to help Libya improve response to boats in distress off its coast
18 Aug 2015 ... Libya's response to boats in distress off its coast by streamlining information sharing and coordination with international organizations. "We hope the new contact group will boost Libya's ...... -
UNHCR seeks US$32 million for Libya emergency operations
7 Mar 2011 ... donors for US$32 million to fund its continuing emergency response operations for the Libya crisis. ... of foreigners from Tunisia's border with Libya, but warned that large numbers of people ...... -
Update No.1 on the humanitarian situation in Libya and the neighbouring countries
2 Mar 2011 ... UPDATE ON THE HUMANITARIAN SITUATION IN LIBYA AND IN THE NEIGHBOURING COUNTRIES 2 March 2011 People fleeing Libya at the Tunisian border @ UNHCR / A. Duclos Overview Libya Information from western ......