Libya: Thousands of Refugees in Life-Threatening

 500 refugees are now held in what was known to be a private detention centre in Alshatti located on Sahara Desert border with no adequate supply of basic necessities. HRLHA has also learnt that the very adverse weather condition at Alshatti has worsened the situation to the refugees. Even two expecting women who delivered after arriving in Alshatti and their newly born infants were not treated differently. The fact that the refugees are now held in isolation where they are not visited by international agencies like the UN High Commission for Refugees and the ICRC until this Urgent Action is documented,  as they used to when they were sheltered in Benghazi, added to the very unfriendly living condition has raised their frustrations. The refugees who were contacted by HRLHA also mention that there have been detachments and disconnections among refugees who had acquaintances and/or relationships with each other. Most of the refugees who were taken to Alshatti are originally from Ethiopia and Eritrea, HRLHA correspondents have added.

The HRLHA managed to obtain the names of the following 33 refugees:

No	Name	Country of origin
1	Foad Kasim	Ethiopia, Oromo
2	Abdi Nagassa	Ethiopia, Oromo
3	Derje Gezahegn	Ethiopia, Amhara
4	Dereje Tefera	Ethiopia, Amhara
5	Abdulhamid Abdurahiman	Ethiopia, Oromo
6	Nuredin Haji	Ethiopia, Oromo
7	Mulatu Kassa	Ethiopia, Amhara
8	Abdurahiman Jailan	Ethiopia, Oromo
9	Aman Amid	Ethiopia, Oromo
10	Nahom Gebre Mariam	Eritrea
11	Hani Gebre Nugus	Ertrea
12	Umar Mohamed	Ertrea
13	Wubshet Tesfaye	Ethiopia, Amhara
14	Abdi Husein	Ethiopia, Oromo
15	Mohamed Lencho	Ethiopia, Oromo
16	Husein Abdulkadir	Ethiopia, Oromo
17	Wazir Awol	Ethiopia, Oromo
18	Husein Ahmed	Ethiopia, Oromo
19	Amadu Tesema	Ethiopia. Amhara
20	Tekie Girmay	Eritrea
21	Abdulmohamed Nur	Ertirea
22	Naigzi Goyitom	Eritrea
23	Nigusu Abriham	Eritrea
24	Saladin Mohamed	Eritrea
25	Mohamed Sale	Eritrea
26	Abel Tadesse	Ethiopia, Amhara
27	Gemed Fikadu	Ethiopia, Amhara
28	Yusuf Tahir	Ethiopia, Oromo
29	Abduzamed Mohamed	Ethiopia, Oromo
30	Aliyi Haji	Ethiopia, Oromo
31	Awol Adam	Ethiopia, Oromo
32	Selemon Desta	Ethiopia, Amhara
33	Kedir Mohamed	Ethiopia, Oromo

HRLHA is highly concerned about the safety and future fates of those asylum seekers and refugees in such an isolated and disconnected socio-political environment. Therefore, HRLHA calls up on the Libyan Government, first of all to ensure the safety and well being of the refugees and asylum seekers by providing full protection against any kind of attacks from any side or angle and allow access to the new location to the representatives of regional and international UN and humanitarian agencies as well as media organizations so that they could receive all the supports they need especially to bring their refugee lives to an end.

The HRLHA also urges all national, regional and international human rights groups, donor countries and organizations to join hands in putting pressure on the Libyan   government so that it abides by the international norms, the 1951 International Convention of the refugees and asylum seekers and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights article 14 (1) “ Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution.”