I. HIGHLIGHTS/KEY PRIORITIES

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1 Libyan Arab Jamahiriya Unrest Situation Report No February 2011 This report is produced by OCHA in collaboration with humanitarian partners. It was issued by Cairo and New York. It covers the period from 14 February to 28 February. The next report will be issued on or around 2 March. I. HIGHLIGHTS/KEY PRIORITIES Humanitarian access to western Libya is the main priority. Few humanitarian needs have so far been identified inside the areas of eastern Libya which aid agencies have reached and assessed. Continued assistance is required in Egypt, Tunisia and Niger to help ease the congestion caused by the influx of over 100,000 people that have left Libya. II. Situation Overview The situation in western Libya, which is still controlled by the Government, remains tense. The Libyan Government continues to have a strong grip on the capital Tripoli. Several cities, including Tripoli, have become the theatre of confrontations, as tribes have joined the uprising. At this time, government forces continue retrenching to retain control of the capital. Tripoli was reported quieter over the week end with some shops open and people on the streets. Eastern Libya, which is controlled by the antigovernment groups, was reported quiet for the past two days. Defected military officers appear to have some authority and are mobilizing anti-government groups of armed civilians and defected Government soldiers. Leaders of the uprising in the east are reported to have established committees to deliver basic services. While many civilians have been affected by violence, information available indicates that there are few humanitarian needs, in the eastern part of the country. The Egyptian authorities at the Saloum border post in eastern Libya have been facilitating the entry of humanitarian personnel and relief supplies into Libya, pending the completion of simple administrative measures. The majority of humanitarian organizations entering eastern Libya have been Egyptian organizations. On the Libyan side of the border humanitarian aid is welcomed into the country. According to the Secretary-General of the Libyan Red Crescent in Benghazi, the Benghazi port is fully functioning and can be used to move the commodities. In the eastern city of Benghazi, aid workers have reported that the situation is calm, some shops and banks are open, food is available and people are out on the streets. Some shortages of medical supplies and drugs are reported, however some medical assistance has already been delivered in the city including by MSF, WHO, ICRC, Islamic Relief and numerous Egyptian NGOs. An inter-agency mission comprising WFP, UNHCR, UNICEF, IOM, WHO and OCHA has visited the town of Saloum on the Egyptian side of the border its findings are included in this situation report. The main humanitarian concern at this time is the situation in the west of the country where access and information are extremely limited. Humanitarian agencies are preparing intensively, in case the situation deteriorates further. Teams are being deployed to the borders to enable a full response until access is possible. Humanitarian concerns also exist in Tunisia and Egypt and to a lesser extent Niger due to the movement of more than 100,000 mainly migrant workers out of Libya over the last two weeks, transiting those countries en 1

2 route to their places of origin. Humanitarian agencies are also working in those countries to ensure people leaving Libya have access to the assistance they require. Outside of the coordinated aid structure, unprecedented support is also being offered by ordinary people in both Egypt and Tunisia, many of whom are driving to the borders to offer help. Egyptian charity associations have been moving medical supplies and drugs into eastern Libya and there are reportedly dozens of trucks with supplies waiting at the Saloum border crossing between Egypt and Libya. The United Nations Security Council on 26 February voted unanimously to impose sanctions on Colonel Gaddafi's regime, imposing an arms embargo, travel bans and asset freeze.the United Nations Security Council resolution on 26 February called upon all Member States, working together and acting in cooperation with the Secretary General, to facilitate and support the return of humanitarian agencies and make available humanitarian and related assistance in Libya. III. Humanitarian Needs and Response This section is in order of priority to the emergency. PROTECTION Needs: Reports of continued violence in Libya are extremely alarming. Civilians including women and children have been wounded and gravely injured. Estimates of dead and wounded range from hundreds to thousands. Children exposed to danger can experience lasting effects on their psychological wellbeing. UNHCR has expressed particular concern for the safety of African refugees inside Libya. Prior to the current unrest, UNHCR had registered more than 8,000 refugees in Libya, with a further 3,000 asylum-seekers having pending cases. Their main places of origin are Chad, Eritrea, Iraq, Palestine, Somalia and Sudan. UNHCR reports that refugees from sub-saharan Africa have expressed fear of being suspected mercenaries. They are lacking some food as they are scared to go out. Egyptians and Tunisians could also be targeted by pro-government factions as Egypt and Tunisia are perceived to be the main trigger of the current movement against the regime. Response: The United Nations Secretary-General and the Emergency Relief Coordinator have both appealed publicly to all parties to ensure civilians are not targets of violence. UNHCR and partners is appealing to all neighbouring governments in North Africa and Europe to maintain open land, air and sea borders for people fleeing from Libya. Gaps & Constraints: Access to western parts of Libya remains impossible due to insecurity. HEALTH Needs: WHO and other international humanitarian organizations have access to Benghazi. Preliminary information suggests that medical needs are relatively well covered. However, there are shortages of medical supplies and health personnel are reportedly ill-equipped to face large scale emergency situations and capacity-building is required. Response: Over the past 48 hours, WHO has sent two trucks of medical and surgical consumables into Libya from Egypt. The Italian government has also donated ten Emergency Kits for Primary Health Care to WHO. Each kit will cater to the need of 1,000 people for three months. WHO has mobilized 100 surgical kits (each serving up to 100 patients for ten days) from Norway; these are expected to be shipped to the border in collaboration with Egyptian authorities early this week. Working with WHO, the Egyptian Medical Syndicate, in collaboration with the Arab Doctors Union, has deployed five medical teams who are operating in eastern Libya hospitals. WHO reached Benghazi with medical supplies and is mobilizing 100 surgical consumables kits for Benghazi. So far, 10 Trauma A and Trauma B kits, each of which can be used for 100 interventions, have been sent to Libya. Surgical kits that could treat 500 people are also being sent. 2

3 The Libyan Red Crescent is providing blood supplies to hospitals inside the country, assessing the situation and paving the way for the ICRC to gain access to those in need. Gaps & Constraints: Local health workers told the ICRC that the city's main hospitals were short of nurses because the bulk of their nursing staff were foreigners who had been evacuated by their embassies. UNICEF has raised concern over discontinuation of child vaccination programmes in Libya. EMERGENCY SHELTER/MIGRATION/POPULATION MOVEMENTS Libya shares land borders with Egypt, Tunisia, Algeria, Chad and Sudan. The main population movements out of the country have been focused on Egypt, Tunisia and Niger. Most of the population movements have been of the 1.5 million migrant workers IOM estimates were present in Libya before the uprising began. The Italian Red Cross is also preparing for the possibility of 200,000 refugees fleeing to Europe. Needs: Egypt: According to the interim report of the joint UN assessment mission that traveled to the Egypt- Libya border crossing of Saloum on February, more than 61,000 people have crossed the border into Egypt since 19 February. The majority - 49,000 - were Egyptian migrant workers who have stayed a relatively short time (a few days at most) in the border area. Out of the non-egyptians, some 2,100 are Libyan citizens. Among those who have crossed, there have been 51 injured and some have been treated at local hospitals. The majority of those crossing the border are single men, with no need for long term shelter on the Egyptian side as the border is only a waiting area. Exact numbers of women and children crossing at this post is not known, however it is estimated not to exceed 10 percent of the total number of arrivals. There have been no reports of sexual violence and no missing children or unaccompanied minors are reported. Between 5,000 and 7,000 third country nationals (TCNs) i.e. non-egyptians and non-libyans remain stranded at the border (including in a 750m stretch of no-man s-land between the last Egyptian border post and the first Libyan border post) as of 27 February. Most TCNs are adult male migrant workers with Bangladeshis currently comprising the largest caseload (3,500 persons) of the stranded population. Some migrants without documentation are now in contact with their respective consular officials. Tunisia: At the border crossing into Tunisia, UNHCR informed on 27 February that 40-50,000 had crossed since 22 February. Some 18,000 are Tunisian, 15,000 Egyptians, 3,500 Libyans and 2,000 Chinese. This border crossing appears to be much more congested than the one into Egypt. Niger: According to IOM, the mainly 1,000 African migrant workers going out of Libya to the IOM transit site in Dirkou are reportedly exhausted and some dehydrated from the long journey through southern Libya and northern Niger,. IOM has learned that hundreds of people are willing to leave but remain blocked in Libya. Response: Egypt: The Government of Egypt is providing arrival services managed by the military forces at the Egyptian border side. These cover basic health services, food and water supplies; temporary shelters either from Military resources, the Marsa Matruh Governorate, the Egyptian Red Crescent (ERC) or community donations. Egyptian authorities are also facilitating immigration procedures. The Egyptian authorities are facilitating the onward journey of Egyptian migrants at the government s expense. The Egyptian Red Crescent has established an 24-hour operation room at the border with the support of the IFRC. IOM has also chartered four planes which will rotate tomorrow between Djerba and Cairo. This will add to the efforts of the Egyptian Government which organized an air shuttle service of between 10 to 15 rotations a day. Tunisia: UNHCR is deploying tents that will accommodate 10,000 people in addition to the current capacities. So far, food has not been a concern thanks to the generosity of the local population. However WFP has sent 80 tons of high energy biscuits as an additional input, and WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran is in Tunisia today to discuss humanitarian needs with officials. WFP is also providing a cash donation of US$150,000 to support local efforts to provide food assistance. IOM is providing humanitarian assistance to migrants, and is distributing, through the military, 350 blankets, 600 food packages and 600 water units. Niger: IOM reported that 654 Nigerien nationals have reached their transit facility in Dirkou. These migrants are being assisted to proceed to Agadez City with military convoy due to insecurity in northern Niger. Gaps & Constraints: Egypt: The Egyptian authorities are reluctant to support the setting up of refugee camps or longer-term transit centres. However reception facilities at the Egyptian border are overstretched and cannot meet the immediate basic needs of the large number of people crossing on a daily basis. The 3

4 arrival and departure halls combined do not always accommodate the many new arrivals. Several people stay outside the hall in cold weather. The recommendations of the joint UN assessment mission to the Egyptian border included: (a) Establish a small coordination hub in the border area to facilitate international assistance into Libya; (b) As soon as the security situation allows, set up a humanitarian coordination hub in Benghazi with coordination, information management and registration capabilities; (c) Enhance preparedness measures on the Egyptian side of the border in preparation for a large sudden influx of population. Evacuation and repatriation assistance to TCNs should remain a priority; (d) Continued provision of humanitarian assistance to TCNs at the border post; (e) Support to women and children in the eastern part of Libya is required. Tunisia: The pressure is mounting at the Libya-Tunisia border as thousands of mainly Egyptians are overcrowding the transit site set up in the border area. This is despite the fairly well organized actions coordinated by the Tunisian Red Crescent with the support of the Army and others. With the increased number of people fleeing Libya to Tunisia and the limited capacity of the camp on the Tunisian side of the border, WHO has expressed concern of the risk of communicable diseases in this environment. More and more sub-saharan Africans are arriving at the border, but many are denied entry for reasons yet unclear. Niger: IOM has learned that hundreds of people are willing to leave Libya to enter Niger, but remain blocked in Libya for reasons as yet unknown. IV. Coordination Supported by OCHA, an informal network (the Libya Crisis Network) is facilitating the exchange of information between humanitarian partners based in Libya, Egypt and Tunisia. The network comprise the regional offices of IASC partner agencies, the UN Resident Coordinators of Libya, Egypt, and Tunisia and key humanitarian agencies in the three countries. The network will facilitate a mapping of emergency stockpiles and the development a Who does What and Where. The UN Resident Coordinator for Egypt has approached the Egyptian Ministry of Foreign Affairs to explore the possibility of establishing a humanitarian coordination hub at the border with Libya. The RC in Tunisia will also take a similar step. The Director of the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) Coordination and Response Division Mr. John Ging is on mission in Egypt, and has held meetings with the Egypt UN Country Team and the Government of Egypt. OCHA is deploying a team to Cairo to reinforce coordination at the borders, and to establish mechanisms for coordination, information management, reporting and public information. V. Funding Inter-Agency Standing Committee members decided in New York on 28 February to prepare and release a regional appeal once more inter-agency assessments have been conducted. The Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) is ready to meet immediate funding needs while the assessment and appeal are being prepared. IOM has already appealed for an initial US$11 million to assist migrants in need of evacuation and repatriation assistance. WHO and UNICEF are planning to issue donor alerts. The ICRC has launched a preliminary emergency appeal for $6.4 million to meet the emergency needs of people affected by the violent unrest in Libya. This initial appeal is intended to ensure adequate surgical and medical care for the wounded and emergency aid for people who have fled from Libya into neighbouring Tunisia and Egypt. ECHO has already allocated EURO 3 million to the crisis. All humanitarian partners including donors and recipient agencies are encouraged to inform FTS of cash and in-kind contributions by sending an to: fts@reliefweb.int. 4

5 VI. Contact [For major emergencies the contact details of the cluster coordinators should also be included] New York: Mr. David Carden Officer-in-Charge Americas & the Caribbean, Europe, Central Asia and Middle East, (ACAEME) Section Coordination Response Division- OCHA-New York Tel. No.: Ms. Heidi Kuttab Humanitarian Affairs Officer Americas & the Caribbean, Europe, Central Asia and Middle East, (ACAEME) Section Coordination Response Division- OCHA-New York Tel. No.: = Ms. Stephanie Bunker Public Information Unit PIU Manager Tel. No.: Geneva: Mr. Thierry Delbreuve Humanitarian Affairs Officer Telephone: +41 (0) For more information, please visit: http;// 5