Libyan authorities have announced the release of more than 450 prisoners as part of measures to curb the spread of the coronavirus that has infected at least eight people in the country.

The Libyan Crime Watch has said it had documented the death of three prisoners as a result of the lack of medical care and neglect and poor humanitarian conditions in prisons in the eastern region, noting the Kuwefia and Qarnadah prisons in particular.

As Libyan authorities confirmed three COVID-19 cases in the country as of March 28, 2020, they need to be prepared to limit the spread of the virus in overcrowded detention facilities and shelters for displaced people, Human Rights Watch said on Monday.

Libya’s justice ministry announced Sunday over 450 prisoners were being freed in a bid to protect against the spread of coronavirus in the wake of the war-torn country’s first declared infections.

The head of the United Nations Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL) Stephanie Williams has strongly condemned the repeated shelling on Ain Zara district, including the Al Rwemi Prison.

Khalifa Haftar’s forces have carried out, for the fourth respective day, rocket attacks on Ain Zara in southern Tripoli despite announcing adherence to a humanitarian halt of hostilities amid Coronavirus concerns.

Italy must suspend its support for the Libyan Coast Guard until it commits to ending abusive treatment of migrants, Human Rights Watch said on today.

The United Nations said on Thursday it was suspending its services at a refugee centre in Libya over safety concerns and was evacuating the facility, as France revealed it had spotted a Turkish vessel delivering a military shipment to the war-torn country.

An increase in fighting in Libya will make life even more precarious for the more than 636,000 refugees and migrants in the country, human rights activists say.

Libyan Crimes Watch (LCW) has said it had documented the kidnapping of 20 civilians in Sirte since the fall of the city in the hands of Haftar.