UN launches appeal for $162m in aid for Libyans

Libya “stands on the brink of a humanitarian crisis,” the Deputy Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General, Ali Za’tari, warned yesterday.

During a press conference held in the Egyptian capital Cairo, Za’tari pointed out that Libya is in need of $162 million to help the 2.4 million people affected by the crisis in their country.

He warned of a “severe shortage” in the humanitarian aid provided to Libya, adding that the international community has provided “only seven per cent of the required aid.”

The Deputy Head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) clarified that the international community “have provided only $4.4 million out of [a required] $166 million,” appealing to the Libyan government and the world to support the 1.3 million Libyans, who are “in dire need of humanitarian assistance.”

The worsening humanitarian crisis in Libya, which has emerged because of the war and regional dynamics, may have affected three million people, including 2.4 million in need of immediate humanitarian help.

There are half a million displaced people in Libya, and they are expected to make the dangerous journey across the sea to Europe as a result of the loss of security and the deteriorating conditions prevailing in the country, data released by the United Nations Office in Cairo revealed.