UNHCR Urges Libya to Urgently Develop Plan for Asylum Seekers, Refugees

The Libyan authorities deport 128 migrants from The Gambia. (Libyan Anti-Illegal Immigration Department)
The Libyan authorities deport 128 migrants from The Gambia. (Libyan Anti-Illegal Immigration Department)
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UNHCR Urges Libya to Urgently Develop Plan for Asylum Seekers, Refugees

The Libyan authorities deport 128 migrants from The Gambia. (Libyan Anti-Illegal Immigration Department)
The Libyan authorities deport 128 migrants from The Gambia. (Libyan Anti-Illegal Immigration Department)

The UN Refugee Agency has urged the Libyan government to immediately address the dire situation of asylum-seekers and refugees in a humane and rights-based manner.

Libyan Anti-Illegal Immigration Department on Friday said 128 migrants were voluntarily deported from Libya to their country of origin.

Raids and arbitrary arrests by the authorities this month targeted areas largely populated by refugees and asylum-seekers that resulted in several deaths, and thousands detained.

“Since the start of the security raids and arrests by the Libyan authorities in October, we have witnessed a sharp deterioration in the situation facing vulnerable asylum-seekers and refugees in Tripoli,” said Vincent Cochetel, UNHCR’s Special Envoy for the Western and Central Mediterranean Situation.

“The Libyan authorities must come up with a proper plan that respects their rights and identifies durable solutions.”

“Many have been left homeless and lost all their belongings as a result of the security operation and are now sleeping in the cold and in a very unsafe environment. This is utterly unacceptable,” said Cochetel.

The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and Doctors without Borders (MSF) said the raids, mostly targeting irregular migrants, left more than 5,000 detained.

Since weeks, around 2,000 African migrants have been protesting outside the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees headquarters, demanding to deport them to a third country through the Voluntary Humanitarian Return program.

The UN Refugee Agency has welcomed authorization to restart humanitarian evacuation flights but warns that it is not enough.

“This is a positive development for some of the most vulnerable refugees, who have been waiting anxiously for many months to depart,” said Cochetel.



Sudan Army Says Retakes Khartoum-Area Market from RSF

 A burned military vehicle sits at Khartoum international airport a day after it was recaptured from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), in Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP)
A burned military vehicle sits at Khartoum international airport a day after it was recaptured from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), in Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP)
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Sudan Army Says Retakes Khartoum-Area Market from RSF

 A burned military vehicle sits at Khartoum international airport a day after it was recaptured from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), in Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP)
A burned military vehicle sits at Khartoum international airport a day after it was recaptured from the Rapid Support Forces (RSF), in Khartoum, Sudan, Thursday, March 27, 2025. (AP)

The Sudanese army said on Saturday it had taken control of a major market in Khartoum's twin city of Omdurman, long used by its rival Rapid Support Forces (RSF) as a staging ground for attacks.

It is the latest conquest in the army's major offensive this month to wrest back control of the entire capital region, which includes Khartoum, Omdurman and Bahri -- three cities split by branches of the River Nile.

The blitz saw the army recapture the presidential palace on March 21, followed by the war-damaged airport and other key sites in the city center.

In a statement, army spokesman Nabil Abdullah said forces extended "their control over Souq Libya in Omdurman" and seized "weapons and equipment left behind by" the RSF as they fled.

Souq Libya, one of the largest and busiest in the Khartoum area, had for months been an RSF stronghold and a launchpad for attacks on northern and central Omdurman since the war with the army began on April 15, 2023.

While the army already controls much of Omdurman, the RSF still holds ground in the city's west, particularly in Ombada district.

Late Thursday, the military spokesman said that the army had "cleansed" Khartoum itself from "the last pockets" of the RSF.

Sudan's war began almost two years ago during a power struggle between the army and the RSF, a paramilitary force that was once its ally.

Khartoum has seen more than 3.5 million of its people flee since the war began, according to the United Nations. Millions more, unable or unwilling to leave, live among abandoned buildings, wrecked vehicles and what the army says are hidden mass graves.

The war has carved Sudan in two: the army holds sway in the east and north while the RSF controls most of Darfur in the west, and parts of the south.