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Add to Preferred SourcesAmidst an increasingly volatile security situation in Tripoli, UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency successfully evacuated 135 people out of Libya to Niger on 16 October.
Many of the evacuated had been held in detention centers for several months and were suffering from the effects of malnutrition and poor health. They are currently being hosted in UNHCR’s Emergency Transit Mechanism (ETM) until further solutions for them are found.
UNHCR staff endured significant security challenges and restrictions on movement to complete the evacuation as tensions amongst rival militias increase, resulting in intermittent exchanges of fire and rockets falling on Tripoli airport.
UNHCR is grateful to Libyan authorities for providing access to the evacuees, and welcomes the crucial support of the Government of Niger in hosting the Emergency Transit Mechanism.
On the same day, 85 refugees from Syria, Sudan and Eritrea departed on two flights from Tripoli to Timisoara, Romania, with the assistance of IOM, the UN Migration Agency. They will spend a few days at UNHCR’s Emergency Transit Facility before flying onwards to Norway.
UNHCR welcomes the efforts of resettlement countries in coming forward with offers of places for those trapped in Libya. However, with many refugees in Niger in need of further offers of resettlement, and many more in Libya requiring urgent evacuation, UNHCR implores resettlement countries to speed their procedures for further places to become available.
Original source: UNHCR
Published on 18 October 2018