Thousands of refugees and migrants plead for Libya evacuation – By Sally Hayden (Al Jazeera) / Oct 22 2021
Appeals at Tripoli sit-in come as more than 5,000 people rounded up this month and put in indefinite detention in already overcrowded centres.
Thousands of refugees and migrants have been camped out in front of a United Nations centre in Tripoli for three weeks, calling for evacuation from Libya in the wake of sweeping raids that saw thousands arrested.
The renewed appeals at the sit-in come even as the UN’s refugee agency (UNHCR) said it had suspended work in the Libyan capital following the latest crackdown.
“No medical treatment. No food. No water. The big problem is toilet,” said one Eritrean man who has spent time at the site and did not want to be named. “We hope the UNHCR will take us to a safe country, otherwise whatever we do no one cares about us.”
Solidarity protests have been held in several countries, including the United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy and Canada.
