TRIPOLI, April 25 (Xinhua) -- The UN Support Mission in Libya said in a statement on Thursday that four United Nations agencies have launched the first Rapid Response Mechanism in Libya to help vulnerable families affected by armed conflict in the capital Tripoli.
"The International Organization for Migration, the United Nations Population Fund, the United Nations Children's Fund and the World Food Program launched the mechanism," the statement said.
The mechanism has so far assisted nearly 9,500 newly displaced people, including 3,802 children and 2,470 women and girls, and will continue to provide assistance for people affected by the fighting, the statement added.
The military action in and around Tripoli has so far forced more than 35,000 people to flee their homes.
"The Rapid Response Mechanism is a worldwide mechanism initiated during times of conflict to deliver immediate and life-saving supplies to families," the statement explained.
The east-based army, led by Khalifa Haftar, has been leading a military campaign since early April to take over Tripoli where the UN-backed government is based.
The fighting has so far killed more than 270 people and injured nearly 1300 others, the World Health Organization said.
Libya has been struggling to make a democratic transition amid insecurity and chaos ever since the fall of former leader Muammar Gaddafi's regime in 2011.
