On Wednesday, Libya’s anti-illegal immigration department began a COVID-19 vaccination campaign for illegal migrants inside a reception center in Tripoli.
“Today, we are carrying a vaccination campaign against COVID-19 in cooperation with the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC) and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), targeting 823 migrants,” Husni Abu-Ayana,
Spokesman of the reception center, told Xinhua.
“First doses will be administered today and tomorrow. There are also police officers targeted for vaccination,” he added.
The campaign will reach a number of reception centers in Tripoli and other nearby cities, and will last for three weeks, according to the center.
The total number of COVID-19 cases in Libya so far is 343,932, including 266,348 recoveries and 4,720 deaths. A total of 1,413,069 people in Libya have received one vaccine dose, while 253,017 others have received two.
Notably, the National Commission for Human Rights in Libya (NCHRL) on Sunday denounced reports of killing and excessive use of force against migrants and asylum seekers in Gargaresh, Tripoli.
It affirmed the right of the Libyan state to “regulate and control the entry and stay of immigrants and foreigners present on its territory to maintain order and achieve security and stability and eliminate crime.”
The United Nations has repeatedly condemned the inhuman conditions in Libya’s detention centers. Migrants and refugees are reportedly held in severely overcrowded facilities with limited access to life-saving humanitarian assistance.