By Libya Herald staff.
Tripoli, 18 August 2014:
More than 7,000 families have so far fled Tripoli in search of safety. While some . . .[restrict]have simply gone on “holiday” to places like Djerba, Cairo or Istanbul, others have been forced to relocate their families to other towns in Libya, including Sirte, Nalut, Beni Walid and Zawia.
According to a member of the Crisis Committee of the Sirte Local Council, more than 120 families from Tripoli and Benghazi have fled to Sirte, settling in the town and its surrounding areas.
The Nalut Municipal Council says that it is hosting over than 260 families displaced by the clashes in Tripoli. Working in partnership with the Libyan Red Crescent, the council is doing what it can to help the refugees.
Member of the Crisis Committee of the Bani Walid local council Omar Salim has said that his town is hosting nearly 700 families from the capital. He explained that his committee has joined the Social Council of Warfalla Tribes, the Social Solidarity Branch Fund and the Society of Peace for Charity in providing milk, food, nappies and medicine..
Salim added that the Social Solidarity Fund was planning to offer financial aid to the families.
The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) has revealed that it cannot get to urgently needed stockpiles of relief material its warehouse in Tripoli because of the fighting in surrounding areas. It is therefore sending in aid from its temporary base at Medenine in Tunisia.
Along with its partners, the International Medical Corps (IMC) and Taher Al Zawia Organisation, the UNHCR sent two trucks to Zawia. This was its first delivery since the start of the crisis.
Relief workers spent three days distributing medical supplies, blankets, sleeping mats and nappies to some 2,000 families living in Zawia’s outskirts.
On Saturday, a second convoy arrived in Zawia with essential medicines and medical supplies from IMC’s stockpiles, which were distributed by Taher Al Zawia Organisation.
“This weekend’s operation is crucial and, we hope, paves the way for other humanitarian aid to reach affected populations who are stranded and in dire need of assistance,” said UNCHR’s acting chief of mission in Libya Saado Quol.
The Crisis Committee of the Tripoli Municipal Council has estimated that some 7,240 families (around 43,500 individuals) have been displaced as a result of the past four weeks of fighting in Tripoli. Some sources estimate that those numbers may be significantly higher.
The UNHCR has said that although many families have moved in temporarily with friends and family in other Libyan towns, others have nowhere to go and have settled in the woods and open areas outside of Tripoli. [/restrict]
