Britain will host an international conference in London on March to discuss the worsening and complex humanitarian situation in Libya, U.K. Foreign Secretary William Hague said.
“We will consider the humanitarian needs of the Libyan people and identify ways to support the people of Libya in their aspirations for a better future. A wide and inclusive range of countries will be invited, particularly from the region,” Hague said in a statement.
The imposition of a no-fly zone as proposed by the League of Arab States will also be discussed during the conference, Hague added.
The Arab League on March 24 met with aid organizations from Europe and the Middle East to discuss the humanitarian needs in Libya. Several new partnerships for aid delivery and information gathering were forged during the conference, according to The Humanitarian Forum.
The ongoing political violence in Libya – triggered by a violent crackdown on opponents of Moammar Gadhafi’s regime - has displaced more than 25,000 people in the eastern part of the Arab country, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees estimates.
The U.S. government is still considering whether to recognize the Transitional National Council in Libya, a 31-member body that claims to represent the Libyan state and its people, Gene Cretz, U.S. ambassador to Libya, said in a press briefing on Friday (March 25).
Meantime, the World Food Program said it has halted food aid deliveries to Chad channeled through the Libyan border due to security concerns. The agency will instead use the corridor through Sudan to bring food aid to landlocked Chad, Voice of America reports.
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