Sudanese families flee ISIS controlled areas in Libya
May 27, 2016 (KHARTOUM/ZAWIA) – Hundreds of Sudanese families have fled several Libyan cities captured by the Islamic State (ISIS) towards the Mediterranean coast in the hope of emigrating to Europe, said activists.
He told Sudan Tribune that Sudanese families had also fled Benghazi, Ajdabiya and Sabratha following clashes among various Libyan factions, pointing to the difficult conditions of hundreds of the Sudanese in the city of Obari.
Salih added that most of the families have arrived in the city of Zawiya, 48 km. west of the capital Tripoli, stressing that the three shelters in the city can’t accommodate the large numbers of fleeing persons from various nationalities.
He said that his program managed to rescue several families who sought to illegally emigrate via the Mediterranean, demanding the Sudanese government and embassy in Tripoli to support efforts of voluntary return to Sudan.
Salih pointed that an aid group by the name of Al-Nasr Organization for Development and Relif launched an urgent appeal to avoid what it described the “huge explosion” in the number of illegal migrants living in the shelters following the rescue of four boats during the past couple of days.
He stressed that 135 illegal migrant who were in the first boat have arrived in the shelter at dawn on Thursday, saying the number of migrants in the shelter has reached 2200 people while it is designed to harbor only a quarter of that number.
Salih, who arrived at the shelter on Friday, pointed to the presence of Sudanese and Palestinian families, calling upon aid groups to provide support for the families in Zawiya.
On Tuesday, Libyan coastguards said they detained 550 people trying to reach Europe illegally, pointing that those detained were from several African countries and included three children and 30 women, eight of whom are pregnant.
Following the fall of Muammar Gaddafi’s 40-year-rule in 2011, Libya has slided into chaos and has become the most important transit country of illegal migrants to Europe.
Also, ISIS presence in Libya has become a source of threat not only to its neighbouring countries but also to Europe.
Last April, the Commander of the United States Africa Command (AFRICOM) David Rodriguez said that the number of ISIS militants in Libya has doubled during the past year.
He pointed that there are now between 4,000 to 6,000 ISIS fighters present in the country, growing by roughly two times during the past 12 to 18 months.
On 19 January 2016, the head of the Sudanese National Intelligence and Security Services (NISS) Mohamed Atta, said it would deploy troops to the western borders with Libya to prevent infiltration of ISIS fighters and combat cross-border crimes.
(ST)