Key facts
- Hundreds of Libyans protested outside the UN refugee agency's office in Tripoli.
- Protesters blocked the office entrance with tents and a sand-filled truck.
- Demonstrators chanted slogans demanding the removal of migrants from Libya.
- Libya hosts over 900,000 migrants, according to the UN.
- The UN Support Mission in Libya condemned incitement to violence.
Hundreds of Libyan demonstrators blocked the office of the UN refugee agency in Tripoli on Thursday to protest the presence of migrants in the country. The protesters chanted slogans such as "No, No to settlement, Libya only for Libyans" and "Get out of Libya, take them all out of Libya." They erected tents and used a truck filled with sand to close the main gate of the UNHCR office. Some demonstrators later marched to the office of the UN mission in Libya. Libya has become a transit route for hundreds of thousands of migrants seeking work or passage to Europe since 2011. The oil-dependent economy attracts migrants for menial jobs. Thursday's protest was the largest of several recent demonstrations blaming migrants for social and economic problems exacerbated by years of conflict and political division. One demonstrator, Ahmad al-Ghasa, blamed migrants for break-ins, assaults, and sleeping in the streets, stating these phenomena were not present before. The acting foreign minister, Taher al-Baour, stated on Wednesday that there was no plan to settle migrants in Libya, acknowledging the country's inability to handle the numbers and urging Libyans not to blame others for political and security issues. The UN Support Mission in Libya affirmed the right to peaceful expression and condemned incitement to violence, clarifying there is no UN resettlement program in Libya.