Hundreds of Libyans Protest UN Migration Agency in Tripoli, Block Offices

N. refugee agency in Tripoli on Thursday in the largest of several recent protests against migrants. The demonstrators targeted the UNHCR headquarters and the offices of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya.

Some carried posters with a crossed-out photograph of Tripoli's UNHCR chief of mission Sakhr Karmen and spray-painted walls demanding the organization leave the country. N. spokesperson Stephane Dujarric addressed the events at a regular briefing in New York on Friday.

"We are deeply concerned by the violent protests that took place yesterday outside the UNHCR and UNSMIL headquarters in Tripoli," he said. Dujarric stated that the United Nations strongly condemns any attack or threats against personnel or premises. He added that the organization is concerned by the spread of misinformation and disinformation regarding its work in Libya.

The United Nations blamed social media for fueling the disinformation. Dujarric described countering disinformation in Libya as extremely challenging and called for cooperation from social media platforms.

Resettlement program in Libya. It stated that UNHCR works to help people fleeing war with solutions outside the country, including evacuation to third countries and voluntary return when conditions allow. Some Libyans blame migrants for social and economic problems that have become more visible during 15 years of conflict and political division.

Libya has served as a transit route for hundreds of thousands of migrants fleeing conflict and poverty, often from sub-Saharan Africa, since a NATO-backed uprising in 2011. Many migrants risk dangerous journeys across the desert or the Mediterranean.

The oil-dependent Libyan economy draws migrants seeking work, and many perform menial jobs in cleaning and construction that Libyans are reluctant to fill.