The United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) has allocated two million dollars in emergency funding to provide immediate humanitarian assistance to civilians affected by the conflict in Libya.
Mark Lowcock, who is the United Nations Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Emergency Relief Coordinator and the Head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, has assigned two million dollars from the United Nations Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) to provide life-saving assistance to civilians caught up in the intense fighting in Libya, including vulnerable migrants and refugees.
"I am deeply concerned by the escalation of fighting in Libya. In the past 24 hours, Tripoli witnessed the worst violence against civilians since 2014, with several densely populated neighborhoods hit by indiscriminate shelling," said Lowcock in a statement on Wednesday.
"The impact of explosive weapons in populated areas is devastating. I urge all parties to refrain from the use of weapons that put more civilian lives and infrastructure at risk."
Fund to support hospitals
The UN office noted that ''seventy-four civilian casualties have been verified since the start of the current hostilities, including 18 deaths, over the past two weeks. First responders and medical staff doing their jobs have been among the casualties.''
"The CERF funds will help hospitals and health clinics attending to the injured immediately get the emergency medical supplies they need, including surgical and trauma kits. The money will also allow aid agencies to provide food and relief items to displaced people and support the safe relocation of vulnerable migrants and refugees from detention centers in areas where airstrikes have been reported,'' the statement added.
25,000 IDPs in Libya
On April 16, over 4,500 people were forced to flee their homes, according to the International Organisation for Migration, bringing the total number of internally displaced people to 25,000. That is the highest single-day increase in displacement in and around Tripoli and the number is expected to increase. Aid organizations are responding to the rapidly increasing humanitarian needs wherever access allows, while people trapped in conflict-affected areas are reportedly running low on basic food items, fuel, and experiencing prolonged electricity and water cuts.
Requests for a temporary ceasefire to allow civilians to safely and voluntarily leave conflict-affected areas have not been adhered to. "I urge all parties to the conflict to meet their obligations under international humanitarian law to protect civilians and civilian infrastructure, and to allow unimpeded and sustained humanitarian access to the affected areas," said Lowcock.