UN Refugee Agency Gives Food To Asylum Seekers In Northwestern Libyan City

The United Nations' refugee agency said it offered food assistance to over 2,700 asylum seekers in the northwestern Libyan city of Misurata over the weekend

TRIPOLI, Oct 5 (APP - UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 5th Oct, 2021 ) :The United Nations' refugee agency said it offered food assistance to over 2,700 asylum seekers in the northwestern Libyan city of Misurata over the weekend.

The two-day distribution, organized by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and the World Food Program, is part of a joint program to provide thousands of asylum seekers in Libya with emergency food aid, UNHCR said in a statement on Monday.

"Thanks to the generous support of donors, we provided more than 37,000 emergency food parcels last year, and have reached some 60,000 so far this year," the statement said.

Curfews and movement restrictions in Libya due to COVID-19 have made it even more difficult for families to find work to feed and support themselves, the statement said.

Libya has been suffering insecurity and chaos since the fall of its leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011, making the North African country a preferred point of departure for illegal migrants who want to cross the Mediterranean Sea to European shores.

Rescued migrants end up inside overcrowded reception centers across Libya, despite repeated international calls to close those centers.