Tripoli, April 11: The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) has voiced concerns about the foreign nationals that have been stuck in Libya’s war-torn Misratah city.
The Libyan Red Crescent estimates that between 6,000 and 7,000 foreign migrants are found under shelters provided by the ICRC in the port city of Misratah on Sunday, AFP reported.
ICRC spokesman, Nicole Engelbrecht, said their team had made arrangements with Libyan authorities in Benghazi to make a one-day visit to Misratah on Saturday in order to assess medical conditions and aid needs of the migrants.
Since the beginning of revolution in Libya, many countries have managed to evacuate their nationals out of chaos by planes, but many African and Asian migrants have been forced to take dangerous sea journeys to Italy in overcrowded boats.
In the latest incident, a boat carrying workers of different nationalities from Libya to Italy capsized off the coast of Lampedusa on March 9. Italian port officials said they could save 50 people but at least 250 others were reported missing.
UN humanitarian and emergency coordination chief, Valerie Amos, says there are still up to one million foreign workers and others stranded in Libya, adding that they need $160 million to provide food, water and healthcare for those living in areas controlled by the revolutionaries.
Amos said at least 213,000 foreign workers have left the violence in Libya, mostly heading for the neighboring Tunisia, creating a humanitarian emergency.
Heavy fighting continued on Sunday and sources said regime troops and snipers killed at least 30 opposition fighters in intense fighting in Misratah over the past 24 hours.
With NATO operations in Libya at a deadlock, the African Union has started diplomatic efforts to end the crisis by dispatching a delegation to hold talks with rival sides.
——–Agencies