TRIPOLI: The UN plans to move up to 10,000 illegal migrants from Libya next year, a senior UN official said on Tuesday, in a bid to relieve the plight of thousands stranded in deteriorating conditions in detention centers there.
Libya is the main departure point for migrants fleeing poverty or war to reach Europe by boat as smugglers exploit turmoil gripping the country since the 2011 overthrow of Muammar Qaddafi.
Illegal migrant arrivals in Italy have fallen by two-thirds since July from the same period last year since the UN-backed government in Tripoli, Italy’s partner, cut back human smuggling at one major hub. Italy also helps in the Libyan coast guard’s operations.
But activists say the push has led to worsening of conditions in detention centers, where Human Rights Watch and other groups say migrants face overcrowding, abuse, lack of medical facilities and a shortage of food.
The UN is repatriating migrants to African countries willing to take them back but it was also in talks with European countries and Canada to take in some refugees, Roberto Mignone, chief mission of the UN refugee agency, said.
“This week we are going to send out of Libya 350 refugees, until the end of January we will send out at least 1000,” he told Reuters in an interview.
“In 2018 we are planning to send out of Libya between 5,000 to 10,000 refugees. We give priority to women, children, elderly, disabled, persons who suffered very seriously.”
A total of 44,306 had been registered as refugees and asylum seekers in Libya, he said.
Libyan officials deny abuses and say they are simply overwhelmed by a surge in arrivals amid little funds to accommodate them as public finances have been hit by a loss of oil revenues.
The issue of repatriations has got higher attention abroad since CNN published a video showing what it said was an auction of men offered to Libyan buyers as farmhands and sold for $400.
In November, Libya’s UN-backed government said it was investigating the report and promised to bring the perpetrators to justice.
But it has struggled to make an impact as the country is effect controlled by armed factions.
UN to move 10,000 migrants from Libya in 2018
UN to move 10,000 migrants from Libya in 2018
Ceasefire with Kurdish-led force extended for another 15 days, Syrian army says
- The defense ministry said the extension was in support of an operation by US forces to transfer accused Daesh militants to Iraq
- The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces confirmed the ceasefire extension
RAQQA, Syria: Hours after the expiration of a four-day truce between the Syrian government and Kurdish-led fighters Saturday, Syria’s defense ministry announced the ceasefire had been extended by another 15 days.
The defense ministry said in a statement that the extension was in support of an operation by US forces to transfer accused Daesh militants who had been held in prisons in northeastern Syria to detention centers in Iraq.
The Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces confirmed the ceasefire extension.
“Our forces affirm their commitment to the agreement and their dedication to respecting it, which contributes to de-escalation, the protection of civilians, and the creation of the necessary conditions for stability,” the group said in a statement.
Over the past three weeks, there have been intense clashes between government forces and the SDF, in which the SDF lost large parts of the area they once controlled.
Earlier in the day, the Kurdish-led force called on the international community to prevent any escalation.
The end of the truce came as government forces have been sending reinforcements to Syria’s northeast.
Syria’s interim government signed an agreement last March with the SDF for it to hand over territory and to eventually merge its fighters with government forces. In early January, a new round of talks failed to make progress over the merger, leading to renewed fighting between the two sides.
A new version of the accord was signed last weekend, and a four-day ceasefire was declared Tuesday. Part of the new deal is that SDF members will have to merge into the army and police forces as individuals.
The SDF said in a statement Saturday that military buildups and logistical movements by government forces have been observed, “clearly indicating an intent to escalate and push the region toward a new confrontation.” The SDF said it will continue to abide by the truce.
On Saturday, state TV said authorities on Saturday released 126 boys under the age of 18 who were held at the Al-Aqtan prison near the northern city of Raqqa that was taken by government forces Friday. The teenagers were taken to the city of Raqqa where they were handed over to their families, the TV station said.
The prison is also home to some of the 9,000 members of the Daesh group who are held in northeastern Syria. Most of them remain held in jails run by the SDF. Government forces have so far taken control of two prisons while the rest are still run by the SDF.
Earlier this week, the US military said that some 7,000 Daesh detainees will be transferred to detention centers in neighboring Iraq.
On Wednesday, the US military said that 150 prisoners have been taken to Iraq.
