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Displacement Tracking Matrix (DTM) Libya’s Migrant Report: Round 27 | August - September 2019

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OVERVIEW

The 27th round of DTM data collection in Libya took place in August and September 2019. DTM identified at least 636,426 migrants currently present in Libya who originated from more than 39 countries. The majority of identified migrants comes from Libya’s neighboring countries Niger, Chad, Sudan and Egypt, accounting for almost two-thirds of Libya’s migrant population. Migrants were identified in all 100 municipalities, within 567 communities.

The armed conflict in South Tripoli which started in April 2019 continued to negatively impact the situation of migrants in and surrounding conflict-affected areas. The sustained use of air strikes and artillery shelling in the vicinity of areas inhabited by both Libyans and migrants continues to negatively impact the safety and lives of the civilian population as the conflict has become protracted.

On 18 November 2019, several airstrikes hit a civilian manufacturing site in southern Tajoura, killing at least ten civilians and injuring at least 35 others with most of the casualties reportedly being migrants*. The ongoing conflict has increased the vulnerability of migrants present in these areas, led to decreases in reported work opportunities for migrants, exacerbated humanitarian needs and triggered movements of migrant groups to nearby areas in Western Libya.

In terms of humanitarian needs, access to health services continues to be reported as major constraints for migrants in Libya. Between January and September 2019, over 8,700 migrants were surveyed through DTM’s Flow Monitoring Survey Health Module with 75% of respondents reporting only having limited or no access to the health services in Libya when needed (75%); constraints were reported to be particularly critical in Southern Libya. While Libyan host population was also found to be affected by limited health services in several locations, migrants were reportedly facing additional access issues to public health facilities. Furthermore, a migrant food security assessment conducted jointly by DTM and the World Food Programme (WFP) also revealed significant food insecurity levels among one third of surveyed migrants, particularly those who were unemployed or had arrived recently in Libya.

Among the 15,800 migrants interviewed by DTM enumerators in 2019, 78% reported to be employed, self-employed or to be regularly performing incomegenerating activities through casual labor. The majority of employed migrants indicated sending remittances to their home countries; the average of reported remittances among surveyed migrants amounted to USD 160.