Reference :
V-P-LY-E-00216
Date :
07/09/2011
Caption :
Desert South of Nawfaliya. The ICRC provided a satellite phone to allow the people living in a camp to contact their families with whom they lost contact since the beginning of the conflict.
Confidentiality level :
public
Publication restrictions :
publication without restrictions
Description :
ICRC website, Operational Update, 15.09.2011
Libya: supporting medical services in disputed areas
1,300 people displaced in the desert
Hundreds of families, mainly from Ben Jawad and other towns along the Mediterranean coast west of Ras Lanuf, have fled their homes because of the tensions and fighting in the area. For more than two weeks they have been living in tents in the desert, some 150 kilometres south of the coastal town of Nawfaliya. ICRC staff recently assessed their situation and delivered aid.
"The living conditions of these families are difficult and the desert climate is harsh. It's especially hard for the kids and babies," said Ghafar Bishtawi, an ICRC delegate. "They have no electricity, their food and water are mixed with sand and their tents are easily blown away by the wind."
Together with Libyan Red Crescent volunteers the ICRC has distributed food and hygiene items to over 1,300 people displaced in the desert. Those who asked to call their families were given the opportunity to do so. Many had had no contact at all with their loved ones since the beginning of the conflict.
"Like many others in different parts of Libya, these people said they feared to go back home," added Mr Bishtawi. "It is crucial that civilians be protected by all parties, at all times, without any kind of discrimination. They mustn't be prevented from going back home. We are raising this issue with the authorities concerned and with community leaders."
Only a few families have returned to Ben Jawad. The hospital there is not functioning.
This week the ICRC and Libyan Red Crescent also started to distribute food and hygiene items to 1,100 people in Ras Lanuf. Most of the people receiving the aid had stayed in the town during the fighting or had just returned home, but some had been displaced from Brega, Ben Jawad or Nawfaliya.
Original material :
digital
Resolution :
4288x2848
Orientation :
landscape
Colour/B&W :
colour
