The boat was to carry out an initial evacuation of 300 migrants
stranded in the city by the violence.
IOM will maintain a ship off the Tripoli coast until security
conditions have improved and the safety of staff and migrants can
be guaranteed.
“We urgently call on all parties to allow IOM to carry out its
humanitarian work in safety and begin evacuating the many thousands
of migrants who want to leave Tripoli,” says William Lacy Swing,
IOM Director General.
Although there are no clear figures on the overall
number of migrants still in Tripoli and how many in total want to
be evacuated, several thousands had registered for assistance in
recent days.
Many more, including Sub-Saharan Africans who live on the
outskirts of Tripoli and who have not been able to reach embassies,
might also require assistance.
With fighting between government and rebel forces continuing
in the city and with migrants scattered around Tripoli, IOM is
calling for both parties to ensure migrants are allowed to safely
make their way to the port for evacuation once the IOM boat is able
to dock.
“We have seen with our Misrata operations at the height of the
conflict there that migrants were often the innocent victims of the
violence. This must not be the case again,” Swing adds.
For further information, please contact Jean Philippe
Chauzy, Tel: + 41 22 717 9361/+41 79 285 4366, Email:
jpchauzy@iom.int or Jemini
Pandya, IOM Geneva, Tel: + 41 22 717 9486/+ 41 79 217 3374
Email: jpandya@iom.int or Jumbe Omari Jumbe
Tel: + 41 22 717 9405/+ 41 79 812 7734 Email: jjumbe@iom.int
