TRIPOLI, Nov. 25 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Monday said it evacuated more than 100 African refugees from Libya to Rwanda.
"More than 100 vulnerable refugees, including several babies born in detention centers in Libya, have arrived in Rwanda on a humanitarian evacuation flight organized by the UNHCR," the international organization said in a statement.
Nearly two-thirds of the evacuated group are under 18 years old, including two one-month babies, most of whom were separated from their families, the statement said.
"As violence in Tripoli intensifies, these evacuations have never been more urgent. But with thousands of refugees still at risk in detention centers and urban areas in Libya, we need states to help us get more refugees out of the country much more quickly," said Vincent Cochetel, UNHCR special envoy for the central Mediterranean.
UNHCR expressed gratitude for support provided by Libyan, Rwandan and Nigerien authorities, and from the African Union, through the Emergency Transit Mechanism (ETM).
"UNHCR also welcomes the recent donation of 10 million U.S. dollars from the European Union towards the Rwanda ETM, helping us move more vulnerable refugees out of Libya and to safety," UNHCR said.
UNHCR estimated that 4,500 refugees and asylum seekers are held in detention centers in Libya, confirming that they face risk of "being caught up in the continued clashes or being subjected to horrific forms of harm in the hands of smugglers and traffickers in Libya."
