OCHA urges designating $10.7m for Sirte

The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) urged designing 10.7 million dollars to provide 79,400 people in Libya's Sirte city with life-saving assistance and protection from September to December 2016.

According to an OCHA statement out Tuesday, the situation in Sirte has entered a new stage; military operations against the terrorist group Daesh, have triggered new displacement as well as return movements, resulting in a complex and acute humanitarian situation. 

Forces of Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) commenced military operations to re-capture Sirte from Daesh in May 2016, and have since gained control of the outer Sirte municipality, as well as most parts of Sirte city.

Latest reports indicate Daesh has been pushed back to the city center, and the GNA anticipates that all territory will be re-captured within weeks.

Displacement from Sirt increased significantly over the past year, as families fled harsh conditions under Daesh rule. Sirt constituted Daesh's largest stronghold outside of Iraq and Syria, following the group’s take-over of the city in February 2015. 

As military operations advanced, pushing Daesh fighters back, families have started returning to the towns and residential areas around Sirte city. Latest data from the Sirte Crisis Committee (SCC) indicate many families have already returned, with 48,300 people estimated to currently reside within the Sirte municipality. This includes people who have returned, as well as people who had remained in the liberated areas. 

Estimates of the number of people still residing in Sirte City itself vary widely as active conflict continues.

Return movements are expected to continue, and are likely to accelerate once the GNA forces announce military success. Humanitarian partners anticipate that by the end of the year, some 79,400 people will be residing in Sirte municipality and certain districts of Sirte city, although much of the city itself will likely remain inaccessible for several months.

Families returning to Sirte are facing extremely difficult conditions. While the scale of damage to civilian infrastructure is not yet known, available sources indicate an urgent need for drinking water and basic supplies, including food stocks and essential household items. 

Health services have been severely disrupted and lack life-saving medicines. 

Families, many of which have been living under Daesh occupation, require targeted protection services and psycho-social support. Many homes in the outskirts have taken in additional families from unsafe parts of the city center, straining scarce resources and overcrowding houses. Extreme adverse economic conditions are affecting all Libyans, but for displaced families who are largely without physical assets having left their homes, this is particularly devastating.

Source: MENA