The UN pushed Libya to tackle the “dire situation" of refugees and asylum seekers in the country on Friday, amid an international outcry over sweeping raids and detentions that left several people dead.
Vincent Cochetel, regional director for the UN refugee agency, decried “unacceptable” conditions for migrants, refugees and asylum seekers after a mass roundup and detention campaign by authorities in the capital of Tripoli.
Rocked by a decade of war, Libya has become a key transit route for African and Middle Eastern migrants looking to reach Europe. Many end up stranded in Libya and face grave abuses, human trafficking and deadly sea crossings.
“We have witnessed a sharp deterioration in the situation facing vulnerable asylum seekers and refugees in Tripoli,” Mr Cochetel said.
“The Libyan authorities must come up with a proper plan that respects their rights and identifies durable solutions."
He highlighted the “precarious” situation of some 3,000 people who had escaped the roundup, many of whom saw their homes demolished by authorities and who are now sheltering at a UN-run centre in Tripoli, hoping for evacuation flights.
“Many have been left homeless and lost all their belongings as a result of the security operation and are now sleeping in the cold and in a very unsafe environment,” said Mr Cochetel.
“This is utterly unacceptable.”
More than 120 stranded Gambian migrants were repatriated to their homeland in the first such evacuation flight from Libya in months, the UN’s International Organisation for Migration said in a tweet on Friday.
However, evacuation flights and resettlement programmes would “only benefit a limited number of people” and Libyan authorities need a plan for the many thousands of refugees and migrants in the country, said Mr Cochetel.
The resumption of evacuation flights came as Tripoli hosted an international conference to seek support for stability in Libya and to push for national elections to go ahead as planned in December.
The UN's deputy political chief, Rosemary DiCarlo, used the meeting to urge authorities to stick with the December 24 date, to speed up repatriations and to release migrants in detention.
Libyan authorities faced international outcry this month after carrying out sweeping raids described by aid group Doctors Without Borders as “violent mass arrests” that left several people dead.
The country spiralled into chaos after the Nato-backed 2011 uprising that toppled and killed dictator Muammar Qaddafi. Libya is largely governed by local militias, many of which profit from human trafficking.
Vidaamuyarchi
Director: Magizh Thirumeni
Stars: Ajith Kumar, Arjun Sarja, Trisha Krishnan, Regina Cassandra
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
Day 2 at Mount Maunganui
England 353
Stokes 91, Denly 74, Southee 4-88
New Zealand 144-4
Williamson 51, S Curran 2-28
The specs
Engine: 6.2-litre supercharged V8
Power: 712hp at 6,100rpm
Torque: 881Nm at 4,800rpm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 19.6 l/100km
Price: Dh380,000
On sale: now
Ferrari 12Cilindri specs
Engine: naturally aspirated 6.5-liter V12
Power: 819hp
Torque: 678Nm at 7,250rpm
Price: From Dh1,700,000
Available: Now
The specs
BMW M8 Competition Coupe
Engine 4.4-litre twin-turbo V8
Power 625hp at 6,000rpm
Torque 750Nm from 1,800-5,800rpm
Gearbox Eight-speed paddleshift auto
Acceleration 0-100kph in 3.2 sec
Top speed 305kph
Fuel economy, combined 10.6L / 100km
Price from Dh700,000 (estimate)
On sale Jan/Feb 2020
THE BIO
Born: Mukalla, Yemen, 1979
Education: UAE University, Al Ain
Family: Married with two daughters: Asayel, 7, and Sara, 6
Favourite piece of music: Horse Dance by Naseer Shamma
Favourite book: Science and geology
Favourite place to travel to: Washington DC
Best advice you’ve ever been given: If you have a dream, you have to believe it, then you will see it.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
UAE squad
Esha Oza (captain), Al Maseera Jahangir, Emily Thomas, Heena Hotchandani, Indhuja Nandakumar, Katie Thompson, Lavanya Keny, Mehak Thakur, Michelle Botha, Rinitha Rajith, Samaira Dharnidharka, Siya Gokhale, Sashikala Silva, Suraksha Kotte, Theertha Satish (wicketkeeper) Udeni Kuruppuarachchige, Vaishnave Mahesh.
UAE tour of Zimbabwe
All matches in Bulawayo
Friday, Sept 26 – First ODI
Sunday, Sept 28 – Second ODI
Tuesday, Sept 30 – Third ODI
Thursday, Oct 2 – Fourth ODI
Sunday, Oct 5 – First T20I
Monday, Oct 6 – Second T20I
Company Fact Box
Company name/date started: Abwaab Technologies / September 2019
Founders: Hamdi Tabbaa, co-founder and CEO. Hussein Alsarabi, co-founder and CTO
Based: Amman, Jordan
Sector: Education Technology
Size (employees/revenue): Total team size: 65. Full-time employees: 25. Revenue undisclosed
Stage: early-stage startup
Investors: Adam Tech Ventures, Endure Capital, Equitrust, the World Bank-backed Innovative Startups SMEs Fund, a London investment fund, a number of former and current executives from Uber and Netflix, among others.
Retail gloom
Online grocer Ocado revealed retail sales fell 5.7 per cen in its first quarter as customers switched back to pre-pandemic shopping patterns.
It was a tough comparison from a year earlier, when the UK was in lockdown, but on a two-year basis its retail division, a joint venture with Marks&Spencer, rose 31.7 per cent over the quarter.
The group added that a 15 per cent drop in customer basket size offset an 11.6. per cent rise in the number of customer transactions.
The specs
Engine: Dual 180kW and 300kW front and rear motors
Power: 480kW
Torque: 850Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh359,900 ($98,000)
On sale: Now
EA Sports FC 26
Publisher: EA Sports
Consoles: PC, PlayStation 4/5, Xbox Series X/S
Rating: 3/5
