UN Seeks Help for Tens of Thousands of Sudan Refugees Fleeing to Libya, Uganda

People fleeing the town of Singa, the capital of Sudan's southeastern Sennar state, arrive in Gedaref in the east of the war-torn country on July 1, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
People fleeing the town of Singa, the capital of Sudan's southeastern Sennar state, arrive in Gedaref in the east of the war-torn country on July 1, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
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UN Seeks Help for Tens of Thousands of Sudan Refugees Fleeing to Libya, Uganda

People fleeing the town of Singa, the capital of Sudan's southeastern Sennar state, arrive in Gedaref in the east of the war-torn country on July 1, 2024. (Photo by AFP)
People fleeing the town of Singa, the capital of Sudan's southeastern Sennar state, arrive in Gedaref in the east of the war-torn country on July 1, 2024. (Photo by AFP)

The UN refugee agency (UNHCR) said on Tuesday it is expanding its Sudan aid plan to two new countries, Libya and Uganda, after tens of thousands of refugees arrived there in recent months.

UNHCR's Ewan Watson told reporters in Geneva that at least 20,000 refugees had arrived in Libya since last year, with arrivals accelerating in recent months, while at least 39,000 Sudanese refugees had arrived in Uganda.

"It just speaks to the desperate situation and desperate decisions that people are making, that they end up in a place like Libya which is of course extremely, extremely difficult for refugees right now," he said.

Sudan's conflict has created the world’s largest displacement crisis with over 11 million people forced to flee their homes. International experts warned Thursday that that 755,000 people are facing famine in the coming months, and that 8.5 million people are facing extreme food shortages.



Canadian PM Urges Citizens to Leave Lebanon as Evacuations Top 1,000

Smoke rises over Beirut's southern suburbs, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Sin El Fil, Lebanon October 5, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke rises over Beirut's southern suburbs, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Sin El Fil, Lebanon October 5, 2024. (Reuters)
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Canadian PM Urges Citizens to Leave Lebanon as Evacuations Top 1,000

Smoke rises over Beirut's southern suburbs, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Sin El Fil, Lebanon October 5, 2024. (Reuters)
Smoke rises over Beirut's southern suburbs, amid the ongoing hostilities between Hezbollah and Israeli forces, as seen from Sin El Fil, Lebanon October 5, 2024. (Reuters)

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau urged Canadian citizens still in Lebanon on Saturday to sign up to be evacuated on special flights which have already helped more than 1,000 leave as security there deteriorates.

Canada has 6,000 signed up to leave and officials are trying to reach another 2,500 over the weekend, an official in Trudeau's office said, adding that more flights were being added for Monday and Tuesday.

"We've still got seats on airplanes organized by Canada. We encourage all Canadians to take seats on these airplanes and get out of Lebanon while they can," Trudeau said at a summit of leaders from French-speaking countries in France.

Canada has not been able to fill flights with its citizens and has offered seats to people from the Australia, New Zealand, the United States and some European countries, the official in his office said.

Israel has expanded its strikes on Lebanon in recent weeks after nearly a year of exchanging fire with Lebanon's Iran-backed armed group Hezbollah.

Fighting had been mostly limited to the Israel-Lebanon border area, taking place in parallel to Israel's year-old war in Gaza against Hamas.

Trudeau said an immediate ceasefire from both Hezbollah and Israel was needed so the situation could be stabilized and United Nations resolutions could begin to be respected again.