While official results have yet to be announced, Libya's first national elections on 7th July, in the post-Qadhafi era represented a positive step in the delicate transition towards democracy.
While official results have yet to be announced, Libya’s first national elections on 7th July, in the post-Qadhafi era represented a positive step in the delicate transition towards democracy. Yet in the days leading up to the elections, violence in communities where tensions still exist have resulted in several casualties with thousands more becoming displaced.
In the southern town of Kufra, for example, 50 families have been displaced due to the fighting between opposing groups, while in Zintan, Shegiga and Mizdah 105 people were killed and thousands more displaced. There also remain serious concerns regarding IDPs who are unable to return due on-going hostilities in and around their places of origin. People of Tawergha, associated with Qadhafi, continue to be subjected toabduction, arbitrary arrest and torture by militias, for example.
Indeed, internal displacement remains of serious concern in Libya. According to UNHCR, over the past three months the number of people internally displaced has remained at around 74,000. As the country struggles to consolidate a democratic government, solutions for IDPs as for other victims of the violence will need to not only address the root causes of the tensions, but also impunity for violations.
About IDMC
The Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) (www.internal-displacement.org) was established by the Norwegian Refugee Council (NRC) in 1998, upon the request of the United Nations Inter-Agency Standing Committee (IASC). Monitoring internal displacement caused by conflict, violence, human rights violations and natural disasters in over 50 countries, the Internal Displacement Monitoring Centre (IDMC) is widely respected as the leading source of information and analysis on internal displacement throughout the world.
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