UN distributes winter items to displaced families in Libya's Tawergha

TRIPOLI, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- The United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) on Tuesday said it started distribution of winter items to displaced Libyan families and returnees in Tawergha, some 240 km east of the capital Tripoli.

"UNHCR and partner LIBAID (Libyan Humanitarian Relief Agency) are carrying out a five-day distribution of winter items targeting displaced Tawerghan families and returnees," the UNHCR said in a statement.

The distributions target more than 1,470 returned Libyan families, living separately at two Tawerghan settlements, the statement said.

The items include mattresses, blankets, plastic tarpaulins, winter clothing, footwear, kitchen sets, solar lamps, school bags and electric heaters, it added.

During the 2011 uprising, some residents of Tawergha allied with the forces of former Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi against the rebels in the nearby Misurata City. They fled to other cities in Libya after Gaddafi's regime was toppled.

During a visit to Tawergha last April, Prime Minister Abdul-Hamed Dbeibah called on the displaced residents of the city to return home, pledging to provide basic services for them.