Over 550,000 Libyan Children Need Humanitarian Aid Amid Ongoing Crisis - UNICEF

MOSCOW (Sputnik) — More than half a million children in Libya are in urgent need of humanitarian assistance due to the continuing political and social instability in the country, UNICEF Regional Director Geert Cappelaere said on Thursday.

"Six years since the crisis began in Libya, over 550,000 children need assistance because of political instability, on-going conflict, displacement, and economic collapse. Heavy violence in some parts of the country has forced families to flee their homes," Cappelaere said as quoted in UNICEF press release.

Additionally, more than 80,000 children in Libya are internally displaced, with migrant children being particularity vulnerable to exploitation and abuse, Cappelaere stressed.

In order to improve the situation, UNICEF expects to have all its international personnel operating full-time from Libya with the aim to increase assistance to reach 1.5 million girls and boys and contribute to strengthening of the country's civil society and national institutions, the regional director noted.

Libya has been in a state of civil war since its longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi was overthrown in 2011. The UN-backed Government of National Accord operates in the country's west and is headquartered in Tripoli. The eastern part of the country is governed by its parliament, with headquarters in the city of Tobruk. The parliament is backed by the Libyan National Army headed by Khalifa Haftar.