UNHCR evacuates 163 refugees from Libya to Niger

The United Nation Higher Commissioner of Refugees (UNHCR) said on Friday that it evacuated 163 refugees from the Libyan capital Tripoli to Niger, as the city is witnessing armed conflict between government forces and the eastern-based army.

"UNHCR has evacuated 163 refugees from Libya to Niger through a flight. The plane landed early on Friday," UNHCR said in a statement.

"In the past ten days, UNHCR has been able to transfer some 539 refugees from several detention centers near the conflict zones, including 179 from the Abu Selim detention center, south of Tripoli, amid heavy clashes in the area," the statement added.

The eastern-based army has been leading a military campaign since early April to take over the capital Tripoli from the UN-backed government.

The fighting has so far killed more than 200 people, injured over a thousand others, and forced thousands of civilians to flee their homes, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

The army is allied with the eastern-based government, as the country is politically divided between eastern and western governments.