UNHCR Says Started Evacuation Of Libyan Refugees To Niger Over Fighting In Tripoli

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said on Friday that it had started evacuation of Libyan refugees to Niger over the escalated fighting in the Libyan capital of Tripoli

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 19th April, 2019) The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) said on Friday that it had started evacuation of Libyan refugees to Niger over the escalated fighting in the Libyan capital of Tripoli.

"UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, has evacuated some 163 refugees from Libya to Niger in the first such flight since fighting escalated in the Libyan capital two weeks ago. The flight landed early on Friday. UNHCR has worked with the Libyan Ministry of Interior and authorities in Niger to make this possible," the UNHCR said in a statement.

All the evacuees were previously detained in Libya and held in facilities close to the current frontlines.

"More than 3,000 refugees and migrants remain trapped in detention close to the fighting range, including those in Qasr Bin Ghasheer, Al Sabaa and Tajoura detention centers," the statement said.

UN High Commissioner for Refugees Filippo Grandi praised Niger's support in evacuation of refugees and called on other countries to join the efforts aimed at protecting Libyan civilians, who suffer from the escalated fighting in Tripoli.

"Given the situation in Libya, humanitarian evacuations are a life-line for detained refugees whose lives are in jeopardy in Libya .

.. Niger's solidarity in receiving these refugees is world-leading and exemplary, but it cannot do this alone. There must be shared responsibility and we need other countries to come forward to lend a hand and help bring vulnerable refugees out of Libya to safety ... UNHCR continues to urge resettlement states to ensure quick departures of refugees accepted for resettlement from Niger in order to free up space for new evacuees from Tripoli," Grandi stressed, as quoted by the statement.

For years, Libya has been split between the two governments: the eastern part of the country is controlled by the parliament elected in 2014 and backed by the Libyan National Army (LNA) headed by commander Khalifa Haftar, while the UN-backed Tripoli-based Government of National Accord (GNA) governs Libya's western parts.

Earlier in April, Haftar ordered an offensive to retake Tripoli from the GNA-backed forces. The LNA has already recaptured a number of settlements on its way to the capital, including the Tripoli International Airport, located around 20 miles away from the capital. The forces loyal to the GNA announced a counteroffensive on Sunday, dubbed Volcano of Rage, to repel the National Army.