Refugees and migrants arbitrarily held in Sabaa detention centre in Tripoli are suffering from alarming rates of acute malnutrition, while some were recently locked in a small room with only 0.7 m2 of space per person. There are currently over 300 detainees in Sabaa, including more than 100 children under 18 years old. Two rounds of nutrition assessments published in a new report by MSF indicate that nearly a quarter of people held in Sabaa detention centre are malnourished or underweight, with children being significantly more likely than adults to suffer from severe and moderate malnutrition. The findings support numerous individual testimonies which state that people in the detention centre receive only one meal every two or three days, and that new arrivals to the centre can wait up to four days before receiving food.
MSF calls on Libyan authorities and the international community to urgently address the inhumane and dangerous conditions in Libyan detention centres.