Libyan refugees living on the outskirts of the capital Tripoli received the news of the “humanitarian truce” agreed upon by the warring factions with mixed feelings, expressing hope that it would go into effect as soon as possible so that they could return to their homes, some of which had been destroyed by the war.
According to the estimates of the Ministry for Displaced and Refugee Affairs of the Government of National Accord, over 350,000 citizens have been displaced by the military operation on the capital, most of them are women, children, elderly or have special needs and live in shelters or abandoned buildings.
The indiscriminate shelling of forces loyal to the GNA and the Libyan National Army (LNA) severely damaged the homes that their owners had fled, and some of them were inhabited by fighters and looters.
Despite this, the displaced hope to return home soon, ignoring the dangers that they may face on their way as happened in the past to others who did the same while there had been a truce.
Warith Al-Warfalli, who resides in a none operational factory on the outskirts of the capital, tells Asharq Al-Awsat that returning to his house in the neighborhood of Wadi Al Rabi, 4 km from the capital, is nonetheless better than him and his family continuing to live out in the open.
However, he knows that it is risky, pointing out that “three citizens were killed by snipers when they went to check up on their homes three months ago”.
"We are living in constant misery, whether we live in shelters outside the areas being bombed or even inside our homes. However, over there, we would die in our homes.”
He continued, “We want to spend the rest of Ramadan between their walls. I hope that the war will come to its permanent conclusion, and that bloodshed ends.”
As the living conditions of thousands of people deteriorated, local and Western parties have called for a "humanitarian truce.”
They also stressed the need for safe routes to be guaranteed as quickly as possible so that aid could be distributed to families, especially in Bani Walid and Tarhuna, and Qasr bin Ghashir.
With a sad tone, Amina al-Hassi, the spokeswoman for the Initiative to Save Feminist Libya, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the situation in Tripoli is "miserable, youths are dying during the holy month, and a quick solution must be reached to prevent bloodshed."
Until the anticipated truce is achieved, life will continue to be extremely difficult for the majority of Libyans.
Eyewitnesses tell Asharq Al-Awsat that the past few weeks have been the most violent in months. The indiscriminate shelling has killed more than 600 civilians, including 50 medical personnel, 67 women and 86 children, in addition to wounding approximately 1,500 people.
Shortly before Ramadan began, in a joint statement, Germany, France, Italy and the High Representative of the European Union called for a “humanitarian truce” in Libya to mark the holy month. “We want to unite our voices to those of UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres and his Acting Special Representative for Libya, Stephanie Turco Williams, in their call for a humanitarian truce in Libya,” they said.
