The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) expressed its concern on Tuesday over Libyan militias forcibly evicting 1,900 internally displaced people (IDP) from a settlement in the Libyan capital of Tripoli.
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 14th August, 2018) The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) expressed its concern on Tuesday over Libyan militias forcibly evicting 1,900 internally displaced people (IDP) from a settlement in the Libyan capital of Tripoli.
"The UN Refugee Agency, is concerned about the forced eviction by militias of 1,900 internally displaced persons from Triq Al Matar settlement in Tripoli, Libya ... UNHCR is concerned that IDPs moving to other settlements in Tripoli are at risk of further eviction." a statement by the agency's spokesperson William Spindler, published on its official website, said.
According to UNHCR, which cited local residents, the militia raided the settlement of Triq Al Matar several times arbitrarily arresting 94 people and threatening to rape some of the female residents, thus forcing people to abandon their homes. The agency added that 12 of the detained residents had not been released yet.
Some of the evicted people have moved elsewhere, while others have to sleep in their cars, UNHCR noted.
"UNHCR calls for the respect of human rights, the protection of civilians and for the right of displaced persons to decide about their own future," the UN agency added.
The Triq Al Matar IDP settlement has since 2011 been home to hundreds of families from the town of Tawergha close to Misrata. Tawergha residents, known for their darker skin, were ethnically cleansed from the town after its capture by anti-government militias from Misrata during the Libyan civil war. The residents have been accused of leading the siege of Misrata by forces loyal to late leader Muammar Gaddafi and have since been persecuted and prevented from returning home.
According to the Internal Displacement Monitoring Center, a total of 197,000 Libyans were internally displaced as of 2017 after the breakout of the first civil war in 2011.
