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UNHCR Update Libya (3 May 2019) [EN/AR]

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Libya
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UNHCR
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Highlights

On 29 April, UNHCR evacuated 146 refugees from the Gathering and Departure Facility (GDF) in Tripoli to Rome, Italy. The evacuation took place from the airport in Misrata (210 km east of Tripoli) as the security situation in Tripoli remains volatile. All refugees had previously been detained in Libyan detention centres and transferred by UNHCR to the GDF. After this evacuation, the GDF currently hosts 349 persons. Since the onset of the crisis in Tripoli, UNHCR has evacuated 309 refugees to the Emergency Transit Mechanism (ETM) in Niger and Italy. Since November 2017, UNHCR has evacuated 3,612 refugees and asylum-seekers to Niger (2,782 individuals), the Emergency Transit Centre (ETC) in Romania (269 individuals) and Italy (561 individuals).
Humanitarian evacuations out of Libya are urgently needed as no other alternatives are available for refugees to find safety outside Libya. UNHCR has called on resettlement countries to make additional places available for refugees and asylum-seekers in Libya. Since September 2017, UNHCR has submitted 1,404 cases to resettlement cases while 426 refugees have departed on resettlement from Libya directly or through the ETC in Romania to Canada, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway and Sweden.

Population movements

Since 4 April, over 54,900 individuals have been displaced (IDPs) due to the ongoing clashes taking place in and around Tripoli. IDPs continue to be largely sheltered by friends and relatives in different areas in Tripoli or cities along the coast such Azzawya, Sabratha and Tajura and the Nafusa Mountains. Collective shelters have been opened by local authorities and first responders to support those escaping conflict-affected areas. UNHCR continues to assist civilians with referrals through its hotlines and by distributing core-relief items (CRIs) to IDPs. Since the beginning of the crisis, UNHCR distributed CRIs to 7,790 IDPs and supported another 2,267 individuals through its hotlines.

UNHCR response

As of 3 May, 1,287 persons have been rescued/intercepted at sea by the Libyan Coast Guard. During the week 272 refugees and migrants were disembarked in Zwara (15 individuals) and at the Al Khums port (257 individuals). UNHCR and its partner International Medical Corps (IMC) provided life-saving humanitarian and medical assistance to all rescued persons before they were transferred to a detention centre by the authorities. In 2019, disembarkations drastically decreased when compared to data collected during the same period 2018 (5,257 individuals) and 2017 (3,509 individuals).
UNHCR continues to register persons of concern in detention centres. This week, UNHCR carried out registration activities in Azzawya (Al Nasr) detention centre and registered 367 persons in need of international protection.

UNHCR continues to support refugees and asylum-seekers in urban areas. On a daily basis UNHCR, IMC and CESVI are assisting over 150 refugees and asylum-seekers with primary healthcare, medical referrals, counselling and with in-kind assistance at the Community Day Centre (CDC2) in Gurji. Since last week UNHCR has noted a 25 per cent increase in the number of refugees visiting CDC2.