Hundreds in Libya protest outside UN agency against migrants and refugees

TRIPOLI — Hundreds of Libyans gathered outside the UN refugee agency headquarters in Tripoli on Thursday demanding irregular migrants and refugees should leave Libya.

Protesters on Thursday called for the closure of the UNHCR headquarters in the city. They were seen holding signs reading: “Our love for our country is not racism” and “Libya is not the world’s garbage bin.”

Demonstrators chanted “Libya belongs to Libyans” among other chants.

The protesters accused the UN agency of seeking to settle irregular migrants in the North African country.

Libya is a key departure point for irregular migrants seeking to reach Europe by crossing the Mediterranean.

As of mid-2024, the International Organization for Migration estimated that around 900,000 migrants and refugees were living in Libya.

Many of them are Sudanese refugees who have fled war in their home country.

The UN mission in Libya on Monday warned against a “renewed spread of misinformation, disinformation, and inflammatory rhetoric” which it said was “targeting individuals or specific groups.”

The mission called on authorities to “address acts of incitement and the dissemination of harmful false information that may threaten public order, social cohesion, or the rights and dignity of individuals.”