Tripoli, Feb 18 (IANS): The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) announced that $106.6 million are needed urgently to assist Sudanese refugees in Libya.

In a press release, the UN refugee agency says the funds will be used to support 375,000 Sudanese refugees, 70,000 people in host communities, and 1,000 third-country nationals.

The funds aim to "provide essential assistance, from emergency relief to longer-term solutions," according to the UNHCR.

"This plan is a crucial step to ensure that refugees have access to protection, healthcare, and basic dignity," Aeneas Chuma, deputy special representative of the UN Secretary-General, Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator for Libya, was quoted as saying.

According to the UNHCR, more than 240,000 Sudanese refugees have arrived in Libya since the outbreak of the Sudanese conflict in mid-April 2023. Despite ongoing humanitarian efforts, Sudanese refugees and asylum-seekers in Libya continue to face serious protection risks and urgent humanitarian needs, including shelter, clean water, hygiene, healthcare, and food, Xinhua news agency reported.

The United Nations has launched a $6 billion humanitarian appeal to assist nearly 26 million Sudanese affected by the ongoing conflict, both inside Sudan and in neighbouring countries, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs announced in a statement on Monday.

Sudan has been embroiled in a devastating conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since mid-April 2023, resulting in over 29,683 reported fatalities by the end of 2024, according to the Armed Conflict Location and Event Data, a crisis monitoring group. But many research groups said the real death toll could be far higher.