Libya - Over the past three days local authorities and NGOs in Bani Waleed and Tarhouna have asked IOM to provide support for hundreds of newly arrived internally displaced persons (IDPs) fleeing conflict in Sirte. 

Many families fled their homes leaving their belongings behind, according to IOM partners on the ground, who conducted a rapid assessment to verify the number of IDPs and identify their most urgent needs. By Saturday, they identified 1,064 newly arrived families in Bani Waleed.

IOM sent 250 non-food item (NFI) relief kits and 250 hygiene kits to Bani Waleed’s local council. These were distributed on Monday by the local authorities and “Al-Salam” – an NGO partner.

Another 600 hygiene kits will be distributed by the Libyan Red Crescent today and tomorrow, targeting the vulnerable IDP families in Tarhouna and Bani Waleed.

IOM has placed an order for NFI and hygiene kits for another 750 families. The aid is part of a Korean government-funded IOM project: “Material, Medical and Psychosocial support to Vulnerable Migrants and IDPs”.

IOM is also targeting stranded migrants caught up in the conflict. At the beginning of May, following a needs assessment by NGO partners Multakana Centre and STACO in Tripoli, it distributed NFIs and hygiene kits to some 2,000 migrants in urban areas.

The five-day distribution was part of a European Union (EU)-funded project: “Prevention and management of irregular migration flows from Sahara Desert to Mediterranean Sea”.

For more information please contact IOM Libya. Othman Belbeisi, Tel. +216 296-00-389, Email: obelbeisi@iom.int  or Maysa Khalil, Tel. +216 296-00-388,  Email: mkhalil@iom.int