Libya
Current Situation
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2011 Global Peace Index ranking of 153 countries: 143 |
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Over 200,000 internally displaced people and over 500,000 refugees |
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There are critical shortages of food, water and medical supplies |
Act for Peace responded with emergency assistance for people who fled Libya in early 2011 due to conflict between the government of Muammar Gaddafi and opposition forces. Many of the refugees who fled were migrant workers, but as the conflict worsened, Libyans also fled in large numbers.
The conflict in Libya resulted in further contamination by unexploded ordnance and possibly landmines. Libya was already contaminated with mines as a result of conflicts with Egypt in 1977 and Chad in 1980 to 1987. The borders with Chad, Egypt and Tunisia are said to be affected by mines, as are areas in the north and south of the country.
Act for Peace in Libya
Act for Peace has supported ACT Alliance partners who have responded with emergency assistance to the crisis in Libya throughout 2011. The ACT Alliance response has included humanitarian assistance in refugee camps on the Tunisian border with Libya, including sanitation services and psychosocial support; provision of cash support to vulnerable families in Egypt whose livelihoods have been affected by the crisis; and clearance of weapons and unexploded ordnance in Libya.
One ACT Alliance team has recently been working in the city of Misrata. Bombing in Misrata began in a concerted attack by Muammar Gaddafi’s forces and was intensified in March with NATO airstrikes. The NATO strikes have added an array of unexploded ordnance to a landscape strewn with thousands of unexploded shells, landmines, cluster munitions, artillery shells and mortar rounds, which pose a deadly hazard to the people of Misrata.
Activities which directly remove the explosive remnants of war remove the threat of death or injury and enable community development, economic stability and long term stability. For stability to be achieved and then maintained displaced people need to be able to return to their homes and re-establish livelihoods in an environment free from the threat of unexploded bombs and ordnance.
Our partners’ work removing unexploded bombs will need to continue for years after the fighting has stopped.
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can purchase a full demining kit, containing the equipment needed to conduct a demining operation. |
