The United Nations refugee agency evacuated 325 African refugees on Wednesday from Qasr Ben Gashir detention centre in southern Tripoli because of deteriorating security and escalating violence, ONA reports quoting Reuters.
The refugees - mainly Eritrean, Sudanese and Nigerian - were taken to a detention centre in Zawiya, a town west of the Libyan capital, where they were at “reduced risk”, the UNHCR said in a statement.
The latest evacuation, which followed a protest and violence at the facility on Tuesday that left 12 injured inmates needing hospital care, brought to 825 the number of refugees and migrants transferred farther from clashes in the past two weeks. The agency called for the release of the remaining 3,000 in custody.
“The dangers for refugees and migrants in Tripoli have never been greater than they are at present,” said Matthew Brook, UNHCR deputy chief of mission in Libya. “It is vital that refugees in danger can be released and evacuated to safety.”
More than 3,600 jailed migrants have been trapped in the capital since forces from the east of the country started an advance to capture it, the United Nations says.
Follow us on Telegram
t.me/apanewsaz
Follow us on Instagram
Follow us on Facebook
Follow us on Twitter
