UN sends more relief items to strife-torn Libya

Accra, April 27, GNA - Vital United Nations relief assistance has arrived by sea and by air in the Libyan cities of Benghazi and Misrata in the past couple of days, as fighting continues to rage between the tovernment and rebels seeking the ouster of Colonel Muammar Al-Qadhafi.

A statement released by the UN Information Centre in Accra said in eastern Libya, a plane chartered by the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) has arrived in Benghazi carrying hospital tents, kitchen sets and plastic sheets for shelter.

This is the first UN humanitarian flight to land in the rebel-held city, according to the agency, which said the airlift also brought cars and equipment for UNHCR to support the opening of an office in Benghazi together with other UN agencies. It said meanwhile, a ship chartered by the UN World Food Programme (WFP) had delivered more than 500 tons of food assistance, three ambulances, medical supplies and other relief items to Misrata. The statement said it was the second time this month a WFP-chartered vessel had delivered aid to the people of the north-western city, which had been the scene of continuous fighting this year between military forces allied to the Qadhafi regime and opposition groups.

"The humanitarian situation is growing increasingly urgent," Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon warned on Tuesday, adding that the priority was to protect civilians.

He told reporters after briefing the Security Council in a closed-door meeting that the Libyan regime had lost both legitimacy and credibility, particularly in terms of protecting its people and addressing their legitimate aspirations for change. Diplomatic efforts aimed at securing a ceasefire and achieving a political solution are continuing, Mr. Ban added, noting that his Special Envoy, Abdel Elah al-Khatib, would travel once again to Benghazi on Friday.

As fighting continues to rage in Misrata, the families recently evacuated by boats to Tobruk describe a 93catastrophic" situation with many having lived in fear of indiscriminate shelling, UNHCR spokesperson Andrej Mahecic told a news conference in Geneva. "Many houses and buildings have been destroyed and some families had to move several times. Parts of Misrata have had neither electricity nor water. Sniper fire, street clashes and shelling have prevented people from venturing outside of their homes to get food and medicine," he said.

"Families evacuated from Misrata also say they have been hiding in their homes for the past two months before seizing the opportunity of a lull in fighting to get to the harbour and board a boat," added Mr. Mahecic.

Evacuees also told UNHCR staff that in some neighbourhoods in Misrata, pregnant women gave birth in their homes as it would have been too dangerous to make the trip to the hospital. The agency also reported that an estimated 30,000 Libyans had fled their homes in western Libya and crossed into southern Tunisia over the past three weeks, many of them ethnic Berbers. 27 April 11