No Official Tuberculosis Cases Recorded At Libyan Migrant Detention Centers - Red Crescent

There are no officially registered tuberculosis cases at migrant detention centers in Libya, but some of the migrants residing there might have already had the disease when they arrived, Osama Bokhrais Shuaibi, the head of the International Relations Department in the Libyan Red Crescent, told Sputnik

SOLFERINO (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 24th June, 2019) There are no officially registered tuberculosis cases at migrant detention centers in Libya, but some of the migrants residing there might have already had the disease when they arrived, Osama Bokhrais Shuaibi, the head of the International Relations Department in the Libyan Red Crescent, told Sputnik.

On Friday, humanitarian group Doctors Without Borders reported on the catastrophic medical situation in the Zintan and Gharyan migrant detention centers, located just south of the Libyan capital of Tripoli, confirming that more than 20 people had died there from suspected tuberculosis and other illnesses since September.

"The situation in Libya is very unstable right now. We are facing a lot of challenges that come from war and climate change. Most of the migrant detention centers are located in stable parts of Libya, and the Libyan Red Crescent is providing them with health assistance. We also provide psychological support. We also support them by restoring family links, helping to connect migrants with their families .

.. They do not have any official registered cases of tuberculosis, but some of the migrants already come to the center with tuberculosis. We provide them with health assistance and take care of them," Shuaibi said.

The situation in Libya escalated on April 4, when head of the Libyan National Army (LNA) Khalifa Haftar ordered his troops to advance on Tripoli to free it from what he called terrorists. As a result, the LNA gained control over the cities of Surman and Garyan. On April 7, the UN-backed Government of National Accord (GNA) announced the Volcano of Rage counteroffensive to confront the LNA.

Libya has been suffering from unrest since 2011, when its long-time leader, Muammar Gaddafi, was overthrown and killed. The country is still split between two rival governments, with an elected parliament, supported by Haftar's army, governing the country's east and the GNA ruling the western part of the state.