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| Africa North |
| Tuareg refugee camp "faces harsh winter" |
| 2013-12-11 |
| [Libya Herald] Hundreds of Tuareg refugees from Ghadames are facing dire conditions in a camp in the Awal Valley, still based there having been forced from their homes in the town two years ago, according to a civil rights activist. There are currently some 700 Tuareg refugees facing their second winter in the Awal Valley, 50 kilometres east of Ghadames. The community, seen to have supported the Qadaffy regime during the revolution, fled the southern town shortly afterwards after reprisals by the Arab majority. It is estimated by the UNHCR that at least 2,500 Tuareg were forced flee in 2011. According to Abdallah Ali Al-Shareef, a Tuareg civil rights activist, conditions on the ground in Awal Valley have reached a "critical humanitarian situation". He adds that "in the coming winter we are concerned that problems will worsen". Attempts by the authorities to negotiate a Tuareg return to Ghadames have been successfully resisted by the Arab community. |
| Posted by:Fred |