Why are there libyan refugees

The Libyan government must immediately address the dire situation of asylum-seekers and refugees, in a humane manner, consistent with international human rights law, the UN refugee agency UNHCR said on Friday. According to UNHCR , authorities carried out raids and arbitrary arrests this month which targeted areas largely populated by refugees and asylum-seekers.

Many people have been affected by the raids; their homes have been demolished and they have escaped from detention after suffering terrible conditions. Others have joined the group hoping to be evacuated, the agency added. UNHCR and its partners provided medical assistance and other services at the centre but suspended operations for security and safety reasons. Agency staff are talking with representatives of the protesters outside the CDC, to explain the limited assistance it can offer, including cash and food support.

In a raid by Ministry of Interior personnel on an informal settlement in Gergaresh, about 12 kilometres west of Tripoli, security forces used unnecessary and disproportionate force to detain women, children and men. The GDF is the first of its kind in the country and is intended to bring vulnerable refugees and asylum-seekers to a safe environment while solutions—including resettlement, family reunification, return to a country of previous admission or evacuation to emergency facilities—are identified.

Did you know that on average, one person died for every six people who have arrived in Europe from Libya last year, despite a decrease in arrivals overall? Twenty-year-old Somali refugee Delmar and his wife are ready to leave the Gathering and Departure Facility in Tripoli with their newborn baby Naseem, to start afresh.

Delmar fled Somalia in after witnessing the death of his father and older brother at the hands of Al Shabab. To reach Libya he travelled through war-torn Yemen, then Sudan, and on arrival he was kidnapped and held in a warehouse in Bani Walid. Kidnappers demanded money and threatened him with torture, beatings and starvation. With the help of friends and family back home, he managed to collect some money to buy his freedom.

During this time, he met his wife and was also able to ensure her release from the traffickers. They decided to cross the Mediterranean to Europe, but their boat was intercepted and they ended up in a detention centre run by Libyan authorities for months until UNHCR advocated for their release. Donate Today Please help refugee and internally displaced families in Libya. Home » Our Work » Emergencies » Libya. Libya in Turmoil. Donate now. The groups arrested at least 5, people, including women and children and UNHCR-registered asylum seekers and refugees, and transferred them to migrant detention centers.

During the raids, the armed groups killed one person and wounded at least 15 others, according to UNHCR. Armed groups arbitrarily arrested and detained people without individual verification of immigration or asylum status. Armed groups and units under the Interior Ministry also demolished makeshift housing without offering any viable alternatives and making thousands of people effectively homeless.

A registered asylum seeker from South Sudan who was in his dwelling during early morning raids on October 1 said multiple armed groups and Interior Ministry units surrounded the neighborhood with armored vehicles and light and heavy weapons. Shooting lasted from around 1 a.

I saw horrific destruction. I managed to sneak out with others and spent the whole day and night in perpetual fear, while starving and thirsty. We were too afraid to ask anybody for help, so some even drank from the sea. Of those arrested on October 1, the authorities transferred over 4, people including women and children to a migrant prison known as Al-Mabani in Ghot al-Shaal, while the rest were transferred to other migrant prisons in Tripoli.

Several detainees who were at Al-Mabani said that inhumane conditions there, such as severe overcrowding, lack of sufficient food and medical care, and ill-treatment resulted in riots and a mass prison break on October 8. Former detainees described severe beatings with wooden sticks and alleged that one detainee died on October 5 after a guard struck him on the head with a metal object.

During the breakout, guards shot and killed at least six detainees and injured scores of others, according to the International Organization for Migration. Those in the streets in front of the CDC described harrowing living conditions. Since the UNHCR closed the center on October 4 citing security concerns for staff due to the large crowds encamped there, they had not received any cash or in-kind assistance from any international organization or the Libyan government.

They said some private citizens donated some food. They said they had no access to toilets and no shelter from the rain and very little means to buy food. UNHCR said that some of the people camping in front of CDC were among the beneficiaries and were provided with emergency cash and food parcels to last up to one month and were reissued lost or damaged documents.

People camping on the streets are also exposed to attacks by armed groups as well as traffic accidents.