The Civil Protection Department is to receive donations of food, water and cash in aid of the Libyan people this weekend.

The donations will be received at the CPD base in Shipwright Wharf, Marsa. Details will be announced in the coming days.

The CPD in March raised almost €40,000when a similar campaign was organised, weeks after the crisis in Libya broke out. The money was used to buy medical supplies.

The Department had also readied itself for an influx of migrants.

A platform was built at the base for direct access by sea and a number of tents were set up for reception facilities, medical checks and the accommodation of migrants.

Happily, those facilities were not required.

However, the UN High Commissioner for Refugees today warned of another immigration emergency because of the unfolding situation in Tripoli.

The agency appealed to all sides of the conflict in Libya to ensure that the thousands of third-country nationals trapped in Tripoli and other areas by the
ongoing fighting are properly protected from harm.

“Thousands of third-country nationals in Libya will be feeling great fear and uncertainty at this time,” High Commissioner António Guterres said. “We have seen at earlier stages in this crisis that such people, Africans especially, can be
particularly vulnerable to hostility or acts of vengeance. It is crucial that humanitarian law prevails through these climactic moments and that foreigners – including refugees and migrant workers - are being fully and properly protected from harm.”

Hundreds of thousands of migrant workers, as well as people with international protection needs, have fled Libya to neighbouring countries over the course of the Libya crisis. However, many tens of thousands are believed to have remained in Tripoli and other areas.