UNHCR Supports Libya in Fight against COVID-19

Officials carry out disinfection works within coronavirus (COVID-19) precautions at Martyrs’ Square in Tripoli, Libya on March 25, 2020. (Photo by Hazem Turkia/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Officials carry out disinfection works within coronavirus (COVID-19) precautions at Martyrs’ Square in Tripoli, Libya on March 25, 2020. (Photo by Hazem Turkia/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
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UNHCR Supports Libya in Fight against COVID-19

Officials carry out disinfection works within coronavirus (COVID-19) precautions at Martyrs’ Square in Tripoli, Libya on March 25, 2020. (Photo by Hazem Turkia/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)
Officials carry out disinfection works within coronavirus (COVID-19) precautions at Martyrs’ Square in Tripoli, Libya on March 25, 2020. (Photo by Hazem Turkia/Anadolu Agency via Getty Images)

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) mission in Libya said on Saturday that it provided medical support to the COVID-19 quarantine centers in the country.

This came as reports claimed that several members of the locally based rapid response team had contracted the virus.

Following coordination with local authorities, the UNHCR said it had provided kits, medicines, and disinfection tools to the quarantine centers in Zawiya, northwestern Libya.

House of Representatives (HOR) member Miloud Al-Aswad said several cases were reported among members of the rapid response team in Riqdalin who contracted the virus while they were performing their tasks.

Aswad further lauded the medical and nursing teams’ efforts in the fight against the pandemic.

The total confirmed caseload in the country reached 36,000, according to the National Center for Disease Control.

Meanwhile, the country’s total recoveries rose to 20,889, while death toll reached 578.



Turkish FM Discusses with Blinken Need to Cooperate with New Syrian Administration

A handout photo made available by the Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office shows Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (L) and Syria's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) attending a press conference after their meeting in Damascus, Syria, 22 December 2024. (EPA/Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office handout)
A handout photo made available by the Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office shows Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (L) and Syria's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) attending a press conference after their meeting in Damascus, Syria, 22 December 2024. (EPA/Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office handout)
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Turkish FM Discusses with Blinken Need to Cooperate with New Syrian Administration

A handout photo made available by the Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office shows Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (L) and Syria's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) attending a press conference after their meeting in Damascus, Syria, 22 December 2024. (EPA/Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office handout)
A handout photo made available by the Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office shows Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan (L) and Syria's Hayat Tahrir al-Sham leader Ahmed al-Sharaa (R) attending a press conference after their meeting in Damascus, Syria, 22 December 2024. (EPA/Turkish Foreign Ministry Press Office handout)

Türkiye's foreign minister discussed with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Saturday the need to act in cooperation with the new Syrian administration to ensure the completion of the transition period in an orderly manner, the ministry said.

In a phone call, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan told Blinken that Ankara would not allow Kurdish YPG militia to take shelter in Syria, the ministry spokesperson said.

During the call, Blinken emphasized the need to support a Syrian-led and Syrian-owned political process that "upholds human rights and prioritizes an inclusive and representative government," according to a statement from the US State Department.

Blinken and Fidan also discussed preventing terrorism from endangering the security of Türkiye and Syria, the statement said.