The humanitarian crisis in Libya

Guest post by Ula W. for the News Salient Agency.

Ula W. is a humanitarian volunteer from Sweden currently working with LibAid in Libya.

The United Nations Migration Agency has expressed deep concern several times over the mistreatment of the refugees in Libya, as well as Libyan citizens. Libya has been in a state of political unrest since the former President of Libya, Muammar Gaddafi was killed in 2011. The two rival factions in Libya, General National Congress (GNC) under Nouri Abusahmain in Tripoli and the 2014 democratically elected House of Representative (HOR) in Tobruk under Aguila Saleh Issa, are currently in a tussle to assume total power over the state. Internationally, it is the Tobruk government that has been recognised as the official government in Libya.

The HOR, strongest in eastern Libya, enjoys the support of the Libyan National Army and has received support from Russia, Egypt and UAE. While the GNC is backed by Sudan, Turkey and Qatar. Tobruk is being backed by a military group called Operation Dignity, which is a coalition of eastern tribes and Tripoli has the support of Operation Dawn, an alliance of Islamic forces.

Neither of the rival groups has been able to gain full territorial control or gather popular support. The real power lies with the armed groups that have taken over political order and essentially also the law. Islamic extremism has been present in the eastern province of Cyrenaica for long and the Libyan Islamic fighting group has been trying to gain political power. Additionally, the emergence of the Islamic state militant group has further increased the criminal activities in the region. In February this year, Libya was attacked twice by the ISIS.

The instability and civilian suffering are the main reasons for our work here. Given the lawlessness that informs the region, criminal activities such as cross border smuggling and human trafficking have become widespread. Women from sub-Saharan Africa have been trafficked to Libya for forced prostitution. According to IOM, around 350,000 have been internally displaced in Libya. We are trying to help them.

Peace talks tried in the past have ultimately been unsuccessful. Lack of political consensus and inability to resolve regional differences have only made the matters worse. The violent struggle for power and resources seems far from over. Given the widespread suffering of civilians in the country, foreign powers are still funding and equipping armed groups.

The work we do is offering relief and humanitarian help. The sick and injured must be allowed to seek and receive medical assistance, and civilians and captured fighters alike must be treated humanely, regardless of their origin or political affiliation. Women and children should receive special assistance and protection. Those civilians wishing to leave should be allowed to do so in safety and dignity without delay.

It is especially worrying that hundreds of African refugees and migrants passing through Libya are being bought and sold in modern-day slave markets before being held for ransom or used as forced labour or for sexual exploitation.

Until the political consensus is reached, we will continue to do our job, however the situation seems to become more and more volatile by every day.

Ula W.

#Libya #UlaW