TRIPOLI, Nov. 26 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Tuesday said that another batch of 117 refugees were evacuated from Libya to Rwanda.
UNHCR said in a tweet that "amid violent clashes and a deteriorating security situation in Libya, 117 vulnerable refugees and asylum-seekers" arrived in Rwanda on Nov. 24.
"With our profound gratitude to Rwandan government, now 306 evacuees are safe in Gashora Transit Center," the UN refugee agency said.
On Monday, UNHCR announced evacuating 116 refugees from Libya to Rwanda, including minors.
UNHCR estimated that 4,500 refugees and asylum seekers are held in detention centers in Libya, and 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."
Thousands of illegal immigrants, mostly Africans, chose to cross the Mediterranean Sea from Libya toward Europe because of the state of insecurity and chaos that have plagued Libya since the 2011 uprising that toppled former leader Muammar Gaddafi.
Libya's eastern-based army and the UN-backed government have been fighting since early April over the control of the capital Tripoli. Enditem
