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United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) is facing a critical shortage of funds for operations in Libya and neighboring countries. Unless funds are swiftly committed by donor countries, this shortfall will likely impact vital humanitarian assistance for tens of thousands of people displaced by the recent fighting. The UN Refugee Agency has appealed for over $68.5 million to cover the initial three to four months of the emergency. To date, UNHCR has received $39.4 million, all of which has been spent or committed. We are calling on donor countries to urgently fund this shortfall.
Of the amount received, $18.4 million has been contributed towards the joint UNHCR-IOM humanitarian evacuation of over 100,000 third country nationals from Egypt and Tunisia. Millions more have been spent on airlifting urgent aid supplies to Tunisia and Egypt, offering shelter and protection for tens of thousands of people awaiting evacuation, regularly trucking supplies into Libya and providing financial assistance to refugees and other vulnerable groups in Libya. Throughout Libya, UNHCR has identified a need to expand activities to provide assistance to tens of thousands of displaced people and thousands of refugees who depend upon us for help. UNHCR has a small team of national staff in Tripoli, who are doing their best to offer assistance to refugees and asylum-seekers registered with UNHCR. The humanitarian needs in western Libya are significant. UNHCR and partners are ready to offer humanitarian support in the west if and when permission is granted by the government. The UN Refugee Agency currently has emergency staff on mission in Tobruk and Benghazi in eastern Libya as part of an inter-agency team. Local authorities have identified over 35,000 displaced people, mostly from Ajdabiyya and others from Brega. They say that the actual number is likely to be around 100,000, since the population of Ajdabiyya is 120,000 and most people are thought to have left. While a few thousand have crossed into Egypt, the majority are displaced in Benghazi and Tobruk. According to the authorities, most of their basic needs are being addressed, thanks to the generosity of the local community. However, signs of strain are beginning to appear as a result of the deteriorating economic situation – compounded by the fact that state salaries have not been paid for two months. The local authorities say more and more displaced people are approaching them for assistance every day.
In Tunisia, the UN Refugee Agency urgently needs funds to support the recent influx to Tunisia of Libyans fleeing the fighting in the Western Mountains. According to Tunisian authorities at Dehiba border, 1,620 Libyans crossed on Wednesday alone. Over 3,000 people have crossed in the past week into this area.
Meanwhile some 8,000 people are hosted in the camps near the Ras Ajdir border crossing with Libya. A third of this population is Somali and Eritrean refugees who cannot return home and are in need of alternative solutions. In addition, UNHCR needs funds to support the local communities in and around Ras Adjir, Dehiba, Remada, Tataouine, as well as in other areas where local people are offering assistance to people fleeing the violence in Libya. In Egypt, UNHCR staff is set to begin a needs assessment of Libyans living in Marsa Martrouh, a town some 200 km from the Egypt-Libya border. There are over 1,000 people stranded at the border including 567 refugees and asylum-seekers. According to the border authorities while Libyans continue to flee at a rate of more than 2,000 people a day, some 1,000 Libyans cross back into Libya from Egypt daily.
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