279,000 Libyan children shut out of school by conflict
Children in conflicts, Education in emergencies
A Libyan student at the al-Bashayer school in Benghazi
The United Nations has warned that the Libya conflict is preventing some 279,000 children from attending school across the war-torn country.
鶹APPRecently released data from Libya鶹APPs Ministry of Education paints an alarming picture of education access,鶹APP the UN鶹APPs (OCHA) said.
鶹APPA total of 558 schools across various regions of Libya (were) classed as nonfunctional, affecting approximately 279,000 school-age children,鶹APP OCHA said in a report yesterday.
Schools had closed 鶹APPdue to partial or complete damage as a result of conflict and fighting,鶹APP it said.
In some cities including Libya鶹APPs second city of Benghazi, 鶹APPa number of schools have become shelters for the displaced, preventing children from accessing them,鶹APP it added.
For more than two years, the eastern city has been rocked by fighting between forces loyal to the internationally-recognised parliament and armed groups including the jihadist Islamic State group.
Children return to school in Benghazi in December
The violence has forced most schools in Benghazi to close in mid-2014, with only about a third .
To the west, the coastal city of Sirte has lost more than three-quarters of its total population after ISIL overran it in June last year, OCHA said.
It said that since April and May, 35,000 people fled Sirte as forces loyal to Libya鶹APPs UN-backed unity government launched an offensive to retake the city from the jihadists.
鶹APPHost communities are struggling to provide assistance鶹APP as increasingly more people flee Sirte, putting a burden on infrastructure,OCHA said.
鶹APPWater and sanitation conditions鶹APP are deteriorating rapidly and hospitals face shortages of beds and medical supplies to aid growing numbers of patients.鶹APP
Rival militias in Libya have been vying for power since the overthrow of dictator Moamer Kadhafi in 2011.
The unity government 鶹APP the result of a UN-backed power-sharing agreement in December 鶹APP has been striving to assert its authority amid the chaos.
© 1994-2016 Agence France-Presse
Note from A World at School: One in four of the world鶹APPs school-age children 鶹APP nearly 500 million 鶹APP live in countries affected by crises such as conflicts, natural disasters and disease outbreaks. About 75 million of them are either already missing out on their education, receiving poor quality schooling or at risk of dropping out of school altogether.
Find out how the living in crisis situations with quality education over the next five years and 75 million by 2030.
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