‘Disastrous’ conditions for displaced migrants in Libya

GHARYAN, Libya: Thousands of migrants displaced by fighting on Libya’s northwestern coast are in urgent need of medical help, the head of a detention centre in the town of Gharyan said on Thursday, describing their situation as ‘‘tragic’’.

Some 5800 migrants had arrived at the centre since fighting broke out last month in the coastal city of Sabratha, previously a launch pad for crossings to Italy.

‘‘The situation is very tragic . . . disastrous. There’s a lack of support,’’ said Abdulhameed Muftah, who runs AlHamra detention centre in Gharyan, about 80km south of Tripoli.

The clashes in Sabratha resulted in the withdrawal of an armed group that said it had begun blocking migrant departures from Sabratha, under intense pressure from Italy. Sabratha was previously the main smuggling hub for migrants want ing to cross the Mediterranean.

UN agencies have been struggling to provide support for thousands of mainly subSaharan African migrants stranded after the fighting.

Many have been taken to centres such as the one in Gharyan, which are nominally controlled by the UNbacked government but notorious for widespread abuse and poor conditions. Humanitarian workers have limited access. About 70% of the migrants brought to AlHamra needed medical attention and were not receiving it, Muftah said.

Muftah said there were many children and some pregnant women in the centre.

The condition of migrants was also raised with Libyan authorities by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Zeid Ra’ad Al Hussein, who visited Libya on Tuesday. —