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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)
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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.

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Syria Unable to Import Wheat or Fuel Due to US Sanctions, Trade Minister Says

Syrian Trade Minister Maher Khalil al-Hasan speaks during an interview with Reuters in Damascus, Syria, January 6 2025. (Reuters)
Syrian Trade Minister Maher Khalil al-Hasan speaks during an interview with Reuters in Damascus, Syria, January 6 2025. (Reuters)
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Syria Unable to Import Wheat or Fuel Due to US Sanctions, Trade Minister Says

Syrian Trade Minister Maher Khalil al-Hasan speaks during an interview with Reuters in Damascus, Syria, January 6 2025. (Reuters)
Syrian Trade Minister Maher Khalil al-Hasan speaks during an interview with Reuters in Damascus, Syria, January 6 2025. (Reuters)

Syria is unable to make deals to import fuel, wheat or other key goods due to strict US sanctions and despite many countries wanting to do so, Syria's new trade minister said.

In an interview with Reuters at his office in Damascus, Maher Khalil al-Hasan said Syria's new ruling administration had managed to scrape together enough wheat and fuel for a few months but the country faces a "catastrophe" if sanctions are not frozen or lifted soon.

Hasan is a member of the new caretaker government set up by the Hayat Tahrir al-Sham group after it launched a lightning offensive that toppled autocratic President Bashar al-Assad on Dec. 8 after 13 years of civil war.

The sanctions were imposed during Assad's rule, targeting his government and also state institutions such as the central bank.

Russia and Iran, both major backers of the Assad government, previously provided most of Syria's wheat and oil products but both stopped doing so after the opposition factions triumphed and Assad fled to Moscow.

The US is set to announce an easing of restrictions on providing humanitarian aid and other basic services such as electricity to Syria while maintaining its strict sanctions regime, people briefed on the matter told Reuters on Monday.

The exact impact of the expected measures remains to be seen.

The decision by the outgoing Biden administration aims to send a signal of goodwill to Syria's people and its new rulers, and pave the way for improving basic services and living conditions in the war-ravaged country.

Washington wants to see Damascus embark on an inclusive political transition and to cooperate on counterterrorism and other matters.

Hasan told Reuters he was aware of reports that some sanctions may soon be eased or frozen.