"It is extremely challenging to reach out to affected communities in order to deliver much- needed assistance, while clashes and fighting are ongoing. Their needs are growing by the day and we need to be able to respond on time. Today, much more support is needed but it requires our ability to get into the affected areas," said Saado Quol, UNHCR's Acting Chief of Mission in Libya.
The UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) and local crisis committees put the total number of people internally displaced in Libya at more than 140,000 and assessing their needs poses huge challenges.
This is the second time UNHCR, working together with partners Taher Al-Zawi and IMC, has sent cross-border humanitarian aid to IDPs fleeing fighting in Tripoli, The previous one, on 18 August, reached some 12,000 displaced people in Zawiya, west of Tripoli. Working with local partners to deliver on-the-ground assistance, UNHCR plans to reach 85,000 people in need of protection and assistance by end of this year.
WFP provided food to people in Libya hit by the 2011 conflict, but phased out assistance when the situation in the country stabilised. In the current context, WFP plans to cover the food needs of 50,000 people in the country until the end of the year.
(Source: UNHCR)