The United Nations refugee agency (UNHCR) has called on Libyan authorities to take action against criminals targeting desperate refugees and immigrants, following the emergence of reports that smugglers and traffickers in the country were impersonating Agency staff.
UNHCR said it had gained information from reliable sources and refugees, saying that the criminals were using vests and other items with its logos at disembarkation points and smuggling hubs.
The agency said it does not engage in the transfer of refugees from disembarkation points to detention centres.
It however clarified that its staff were present at the disembarkation points, but only to provide medical and humanitarian assistance such as food, water and clothes to the refugees and migrants.
The reports of criminals impersonating UNHCR staff comes on the back of a deteriorated security situation in the North African country following violent clashes in Tripoli.
The agency said it had received reports of atrocities committed against refugees and migrants in Tripoli, including rape, kidnapping and torture.
The UN Support Mission in Libya, UNSMIL, says that 61 Libyans were killed, and nearly 160 were injured. Looting and crime were widespread, and the Head of the Mission, Ghassan Salamé , described the city as being “on the brink of all-out war”.
Thousands escaped the detention centres close to the clashes, in a desperate attempt to save their lives.
