UN refugee agency calls for urgent relief support for Libya

TRIPOLI: An official from the UN refugee agency on Wednesday called on the international community to support the relief efforts in Libya after deadly floods devastated a vast swathes of the country’s eastern region.

“Thousands of individuals have lost everything, not least their loved ones. Many had already been displaced before, and need all the support they can get to overcome this tragedy,” Aseer Al-Madaien, chief of the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) mission in Libya, was quoted as saying in a statement posted on the website of the refugee agency.

According to her, while UNHCR teams are attending to the immediate needs, much more work needs to be done to help people in recovering from their losses and treating the psychological wounds that this devastating storm has left behind.

“We reiterate our call to the international community to urgently support relief efforts. Now is not the time to turn our backs on the situation in Libya,” she said.

UN has released 10 million U.S. dollars from the Central Emergency Response Fund and launched a 71.4-million-dollar fund appeal aiming to help 250,000 people.

On Sept. 10, Mediterranean storm Daniel triggered the largest and worst floods in decades in Libya. Thousands of people were killed in the floods, which also severely damaged infrastructure in the eastern part of Libya.

• Source – Xinhua