“Around 40,000 Tawerghans remain displaced across Libya and need immediate humanitarian attention,” International Organization for Migration (IOM) announced.
In a Friday statement, IOM referred that it teamed up with Libya’s Ministry of State for Displaced Affairs and the Local Council of Tawergha to deliver essential humanitarian assistance to families in Tawergha, located at 200 kilometers southeast of Libya’s capital Tripoli.
Since the eruption of Libyan crisis due to the civil war in 2014, many cities across Libya have suffered from lack of security and the absence of the basic services, forcing many families to leave their homes for safer places.
About 40,000 residents of Tawergha have been banished four years ago because fighters from the town were seen as supporters of dictator Muammar Qaddafi during the 2011 uprising. Those fighters were accused of allegedly assaulting the nearby city of Misrata.
Clashes erupted between the two sides and ended by displacing thousands of Tawergha’s residents who were forbidden from returning home, until a reconciliation deal brokered in June.
After over seven years of insecurity, and subsequent displacement, communities have begun to return to their homes in the surrounding areas. In recent months, and after the return of calm to the area, at least 100 families have permanently returned.
Under the terms of the reconciliation agreement, the Libyan Government of National Accord has committed to compensating displaced families.
