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.2 on the humanitarian situation in Libya and the neighbouring countries
5 Mar 2011 ... A group of people heading towards the Libyan border with Tunisia. The outflow of people has slowed. @ UNHCR / A. Duclos Libya There was a sharp drop in the numbers of people crossing the border at ...... -
Update No.11 on the humanitarian situation in Libya and the neighbouring countries
18 Mar 2011 ... Update no 11 Humanitarian Situation in Libya and the Neighbouring Countries 18 March 2011 ... UNHCR/IOM currently work with a scenario of around 1,500-2,500 people crossing from Libya and in ...... -
Italy, Malta receive first boats from Libya, stretching asylum capacity
29 Mar 2011 ... In the last four days, we have seen the first boat arrivals into Europe directly from Libya since the outbreak of conflict there. Over 2,000 non-Libyans have fled Tripoli by boat to Italy and Malta, ...... -
Update No.14 on the humanitarian situation in Libya and the neighbouring countries
29 Mar 2011 ... Update no 14 Humanitarian Situation in Libya and the Neighbouring Countries 29 March 2011 ... Operation, with continued support available from UNHCR in the event of a major outflow of Libya. ...... -
Update No.15 on the humanitarian situation in Libya and the neighbouring countries
31 Mar 2011 ... Update no 15 Humanitarian Situation in Libya and the Neighbouring Countries 31 March 2011 ... is now a priority both in Egypt and in Tunisia, given the high numbers who have recently fled Libya. ...... -
Ethnic Berbers flee conflict in western Libya, reach Tunisia
12 Apr 2011 ... Over the past week more than 500 Libyans have fled conflict in Libya's Western Mountains region and sought shelter in the Dehiba area of southern Tunisia, some 200 kilometres south of the border ...... -
Update No.18 on the humanitarian situation in Libya and the neighbouring countries
12 Apr 2011 ... Update no 18 Humanitarian Situation in Libya and the Neighbouring Countries 12 April 2011 ... medical equipment and other items into Misrata, Libya, on civilian vessels without military escort. ...... -
Lack of funds threatening UNHCR's work in Libya, neighbouring countries
15 Apr 2011 ... UNHCR is facing a critical shortage of funds for our operations in Libya and neighbouring countries. ... evacuation, regularly trucking supplies into Libya and providing financial assistance to refugees ...... -
42,000 Libyans now displaced by Tripoli clashes, UNHCR among those providing aid
30 Apr 2019 ... In Libya, thousands of women, children and men have been forced to flee to Tripoli’s suburbs to ... an increasing sense of desperation. UNHCR staff in Libya say people are afraid to leave their homes. ......