400,000 flee violence in Libya

(Vatican Radio) The United Nations has warned of the growing humanitarian crisis in Libya due to the ongoing conflict in the country. About 400,000 people have fled the fighting in the past six months.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees says at least 106,000 people this month alone have fled their homes in Libya in search of a safe haven from warring parties.

Host communities have struggled to cope with the influx and have turned schools into shelters. Even then, the refugees are so numerous that hundreds are forced to camp outside, with only plastic sheeting for cover.

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“It’s a worsening situation,” said UNHCR spokesman Adrian Edwards. Aid agencies are having difficulty reaching the people in need, he said.  

More than half of the refugees are from the country’s second-largest city, Benghazi. While it is now home to the internationally recognized government that was elected in June, it is currently under the hold of Islamist-allied militias, as is the capital, Tripoli.

Hundreds of people have been killed in the worst violence Libya has seen since 2011, when dictator Moammar Gadhafi was overthrown and killed.

Just this week, car bombs exploded outside the embassies of Egypt and of the United Arab Emirates in Tripoli. No one was injured in Thursday’s incident. Both embassies, along with most diplomatic missions to Libya, have been closed for months. But three car bombs the previous day killed 6 people and injured 21 others.

According to the UN, the ongoing conflict has also increased hostility towards 14,000 Syrian refugees who remain in conflict zones. Many Syrian refugees to date have opted for a dangerous boat ride to Europe rather than remain in Libya and face starvation.