UN refugee agency to step up operations in Libya

BENGHAZI, Libya – The U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, says it’s stepping up operations in Libya to deal with a worsening humanitarian crisis and the movement of migrants through the North African nation.

A UNHCR statement says its chief, Filippo Grandi, visited the Libyan capital Tripoli on Sunday where he met refugees at detention centres. It says he was shocked at the “harsh conditions” in which the refugees, including women and children, were held.

It says some 300,000 people have been displaced by the conflict in Libya, an energy-rich nation which fell into chaos following a 2011 uprising that toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi. It says, in all, more than 1.3 million people needed humanitarian assistance.

Grandi says no one should underestimate the challenges UNHCR will face in Libya.