The International Organisation for Migration is providing support to migrants present in the Libyan cities of Zuwara and Sabratha with core relief packages and 100,000 meals.
The UN Migration Agency is providing support to migrants living in Zuwara and an assembly point in Sabratha in the form of core relief packages which include mattresses, blankets, pillows and hygiene kits, and over 100,000 meals. The migrants come from approximately 10 countries and, of the 1,631 interviewed, 44 percent reportedly now want to return home via the IOM's voluntary return programme.
Concern over migrant detention
IOM strongly advocates for alternatives to detention. "We are concerned about the large number of migrants transferred to detention," said Othman Belbeisi, IOM Libya Chief of Mission. "The centers are overcrowded and the conditions do not meet the minimum international human rights standards. We stand ready to provide any necessary support to the Libyan authorities in providing alternatives to detention, especially for the most vulnerable groups, including pregnant women and children."
After weeks of fighting in western Libya IOM and UNHCR have been working around the clock to meet the urgent needs of over 14,000 migrants detained in various parts of the coastal city of Sabratha, approximately 80 km west of Tripoli.
Over 20,000 migrants detained
"Refugees and immigrants have been taken to a hangar in the Dahman area, which became an assembly point at the very start of the crisis," a UNHCR spokesperson said. From the hangar in Sabratha, one of the main departure points for migrant boats attempting to make the perilous journey across the Mediterranean Sea to Europe, they are transferred to official detention centers by the Libyan authorities for humanitarian assistance.
The authorities claim a further 6,000 migrants are in the hands of traffickers. If confirmed, this would take the number of detainees to 20,500. UNHCR representatives have described images of "suffering and human abuse on a shocking scale". Many of the people saved are visibly traumatized, most claim to have suffered abuse including of a sexual nature, gender violence and sexual exploitation. Further, there is "a worrying number of unaccompanied minors, many aged less than 6". "The devastation in Sabratha further highlights the need for international action," the says UNHCR. (picture shows migrants disembarking a boat after they were rescued by Libyan coastguard in the Mediterranean off the Libyan coast, in Guarabouli, east Tripoli. Credit: EPA/STRINGER)