The United Nations and its humanitarian partners have managed to reach 18,000 of the displaced in the last two weeks, said the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), based at the UN headquarters in New York.

 

Some aid has reached the port city of Sirte, southeast of the capital, Tripoli, and some towns in between, with food and household items.

 

For the displaced staying in private homes or collective shelters in the east of the country, UN partners have also provided food, hygiene kits and other household items, OCHA said.

 

Critical medical supplies and equipment have been provided to hospitals and primary health clinics in seven cities that would cover the needs of at least 280,000 people for three months, the coordinating office said.

 

Working with local health authorities, 10 medical specialists have been sent out to provide screening and follow-up treatment for patients in towns further east and the city of Benghazi in the northeast of the country where mobile medical teams are providing out-patient consultations, OCHA said.

 

Forces of the internationally-recognized Government of National Accord have managed to push back the self-styled Libyan National Army from its siege of Tripoli, but fighting continued in outlying areas and towns further east and southeast.