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11 August 2024 (Tripoli) – The International Rescue Committee (IRC) has launched an emergency response, warning of urgent and escalating humanitarian needs for nearly 100,000 Sudanese refugees who have fled fighting and arrived in Libya.
The aid agency said the influx of refugees had placed additional pressure on an already strained service delivery environment and that an urgent increase in support was needed.
The report also states that 73% of the refugees came directly from Sudan across the desert in the Kufra region (southeast Libya), while the rest arrived via Chad or Egypt.
With local resources severely strained, many people are hoping to find a way out of Libya.
It is reported that more than 96,000 Sudanese refugees have arrived in Libya since the Sudanese conflict broke out in April last year. In addition, an average of 2,500 to 3,000 Sudanese refugees are expected to arrive in Libya every day in the next few months.
“The Sudanese people have endured unimaginable trauma as they fled the conflict. They arrive in southern Libya severely traumatized, malnourished, and often in need of medical care. Our teams are reporting large numbers of families, unaccompanied children, and survivors of gender-based violence are arriving in Libya. This situation highlights the urgent need for comprehensive protection measures,” said Jared Rowell, IRC’s Libya Country Director.
According to aid agencies, in April 2023, conflict broke out in several cities in Sudan, displacing more than 12 million people, fleeing their homes within Sudan and across the border to several countries including Libya, Chad, South Sudan and Ethiopia.
Last week, the Famine Review Committee (FRC) Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC) assessment noted widespread famine conditions in parts of North Darfur, including in the Zam Zam refugee camp in El Fasher.
The Zam Zam Internally Displaced Persons (IDP) camp, located south of the town of El Fasher, is one of the largest IDP camps, with an estimated population of at least 500,000 people.
The escalating violence in Sudan has lasted for more than 15 months, seriously hindering the implementation of humanitarian assistance and leading to a further deterioration of the situation.
“IRC has been supporting Sudanese refugees arriving in Libya, particularly in the western, southern and eastern regions. In the past six months, we have provided health care to more than 17,000 Sudanese through mobile health teams, 58 percent of whom are women and girls,” said Rowell, citing services such as emergency obstetric and neonatal care for vulnerable women, girls and newborns.
“We also delivered critical items such as hygiene products and provided comprehensive protection services, including gender-based violence (GBV) response services and psychosocial support activities,” the IRC Country Director stressed.
The escalating conflict across Sudan, especially in parts of northern Darfur, has seen fierce fighting destroy large swathes of homes and infrastructure, plunge hundreds of thousands of people into famine and force people to flee their homes. Coupled with the dire conditions of Chadian refugees, more Sudanese are expected to migrate to Libya directly or from refugee camps in Chad.
The United Nations projects that the Sudanese population in Libya will swell to nearly 150,000 by the end of 2024.
Meanwhile, the International Rescue Committee called on the international community to provide immediate and additional assistance to meet the urgent needs of these vulnerable groups, saying that without rapid and comprehensive assistance, including additional funding for an effective response, the living conditions of Sudanese refugees in Libya will continue to deteriorate, exacerbating the already dire humanitarian situation.
It also urged Sudan to immediately cease fire to curb the rapidly deepening humanitarian crisis.
(English stone)
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