New Funding Helps IOM in Efforts to Rescue Remaining Stranded Migrants and War Wounded from Misrata
As migrants rescued on an IOM-chartered boat from the besieged
Libyan city of Misrata are today taken by road from Benghazi to
Salum, efforts are underway to begin a third mission to evacuate
some of the many thousands of migrants still stranded in the city.
New funding from the British government's Department for
International Development (DFID) of £1.5 million (US$2.4 m)
in addition to additional pledges will allow IOM to continue its
efforts to rescue the remaining 5,000 migrants still in
Misrata.
A third mission may leave for Misrata later today.
The migrants in Misrata, many of whom have been camping out in
the port environs in Misrata since the early days of the Libyan
crisis are trying to survive in extremely difficult conditions.
Living virtually in the open with little protection except for
tarpaulins or whatever makeshift shelter they have been able to
construct, and with no sanitation or access to clean water and
little food, their physical condition is deteriorating on a daily
basis.
"The lack of sanitation and the severe health risks it poses, as
well as the constant shelling and firing are the biggest risks to
their lives," says IOM's Jeremy Haslam, who has been leading the
IOM operation to rescue the stranded migrants on two successive
boat missions. "Food support for the migrants from the Libyan
community around has diminished over time as resources in the city
in general have dried up. We need to reach them fast as they cannot
bear up much longer."
The second IOM mission to Misrata concluded on Monday night when
the IOM-chartered boat arrived in Benghazi in the evening with 931
evacuees on board, comprising 21 nationalities.
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Among them were 72 Libyans, including 30 people in need of
hospitalisation. Most of these cases were war wounded. Upon
arrival, IOM and Libyan Red Crescent teams were on hand to take
them immediately to various hospitals in Benghazi.
Contrary to earlier reports, 650 migrants on board believed to
be Ghanaians were in fact of various West African nationalities. In
the mistaken belief that only Ghanaians would be evacuated by the
IOM-chartered boat, many had declared themselves to be from that
West African country. All the migrants will today be taken to the
Egyptian-Libyan border at Salum, from where they will be later
taken to their home countries by IOM.
Although IOM has received funding to help with its evacuations
from Misrata, the Organization has run out of funds to carry out
its operations elsewhere in Libya, Tunisia, Egypt, Chad and Niger
to help stranded migrants.
The Organization is using its meagre reserves to continue
helping those fleeing the conflict in Libya and who are in
desperate need to reach safety back home.
"Although the funding from the British government will help us
to charter boats to take migrants from Misrata to Benghazi, we have
no funds for the rest of our operations," says IOM Director of
Emergency Operations Mohammed Abdiker.
"We have 20,000 Chadians stranded in eastern Libya, including
women and children, with another 30,000 Chadians in Ghatroun in a
desperate state. Thousands more migrants are in Tripoli who need to
be evacuated, and this is not forgetting the growing numbers of
migrants at the borders with Tunisia and Egypt and those crossing
into Niger and Chad who require help. Despite several requests we
are back to square one on funding."
The lack of funds to evacuate large numbers of migrants is
taking its toll on the migrants who after much suffering are having
to wait to be taken home. Their frustration is now posing security
problems for IOM staff on the Tunisian-Libyan border and with the
evacuees from Misrata arriving at Salum, frustration is clearly
growing on the Egyptian-Libyan border.
More than 543,500 people have now fled the violence in Libya.
Since the start of its operations, IOM and partners have helped
114,300 people to return to their home countries as of 17
April.
For further information, please contact:
Jemini Pandya
IOM Geneva
Tel: +41 22 717 94867
+41 79 217 3374
E-mail:
"mailto:jpandya@iom.int">jpandya@iom.int
or
Jean Philippe Chauzy
Tel: +41 22 717 9361
+41 79 285 4366
E-mail:
"mailto:pchauzy@iom.int">pchauzy@iom.int