TRIPOLI - Endangered refugees have been evacuated by the UNHCR from one of Tripoli’s detention centres as armed conflicts erupt across the Libyan capital, report United Nations officials.

The UNHCR along with the IOM and Medici Senza Frontiere called for an urgent evacuation last week of 300 people who were being held in a detention centre in the Libyan capital.

Over the last few days the tensions in the capital have risen as armed groups are fighting near to the centre. Hundreds of refugees and migrants risked becoming victims of the conflict as they were trapped and abandoned in the Ain Zara detention centre.

They were left without food or water in the government-run centre after the guards fled from the rival battle zone. The detention unit is one of many in Tripoli where migrants fleeing to Europe are intercepted by the Libyan coastguard and detained back in the capital.

One of the detainees talking to The Irish Times said: “We hear machine guns, tanks, big bombs. We see from the roof it’s all fire, all everywhere. We need food especially for the children, they can’t tolerate this,” he said. “We see bullets passing over us and heavy weapons passing on the street.”

The majority of those evacuated were Eritreans, Ethiopians and Somalians. They were transferred to the Abu Salim centre, which is located in a safer position and where international agencies can provide them with assistance.

The UNHCR opposes the holding of refugees in detention centres, as they are under international protection. The agency is present wherever there are refugees, both providing front-line assistance and ensuring their freedom of movement.

Also in the capital, the UNHCR has sent help to a group of 35 displaced Libyan families who were sheltering in a school building in Tripoli. They had fled from the unrest further South from the capital. The agency has provided them with food, water and medical assistance while they work out an evacuation plan in collaboration with the local authorities.

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