by Mahmoud Darwesh, Nawas Darraji
TRIPOLI, Feb. 14 (Xinhua) -- About 200 displaced families of Tawergha in western Libya are currently stranded in the desert area near their city, as their return to home scheduled for early February has been obstructed by armed groups from the neighboring city of Misurata.
"The situation is difficult and tragic in terms of health and environment. There is cold, rain and dust that hurt the families. Some of them here were stung by scorpions," said Abdurrahman Shakshak, the head of the municipal council of Tawergha.
"The camp is unprotected and the sandy wind makes it difficult to see and move. It has caused many health problems, especially for children and the elderly," he added.
However, these families refused to leave without returning home according to the reconciliation agreement between Tawergha and Misurata.
"The lack of tents has made dozens of families wait in their cars. They do not want to go back to the former displacement camps, but are determined to stay in this camp near the city," Shakshak noted, without specifying a date for return.
"We are waiting to be allowed to enter directly. There is no chance to go back or retreat from our demand to enter the city we abandoned seven years ago," he explained.
During the 2011 uprising, some residents of Tawergha allied with the forces of former leader Muammar Gaddafi against the rebels of the nearby city of Misurata.
After Gaddafi's regime was toppled, those residents, accused by Misurata of actively participating in the fighting against them, fled their homes to others cities in Libya. Since then, they have been internally displaced.
In August 2016, representatives of Tawergha and Misurata signed a UN-sponsored draft reconciliation agreement to allow the nearly 40,000 Tawerghan refugees to return home.
Last December, UN-backed Prime Minister Fayez Serraj announced that Taweghans will return home on Feb. 1.
However, the city of Misurata has demanded for postponement of the return, slamming the government's unilateral announcement of the return date as a move without fully implementing the agreement, particularly in terms of "reconciliation, extradition, taking security measures and compensation for all parties."
Mohamed Radwan, the president of the Association of Missing and Detained Persons of Tawergha, said such allegations are incorrect "because all the differences were settled through the reconciliation agreement."
"The date of return was set by the government. When more than 15,000 displaced people gathered from the west and east of the country to return home, we were surprised when seeing armed groups firing guns and dispersing people to force them to retreat," Radwan said.
Ahmad Al-Agta, the head of the field hospital in the desert camp, said more than 700 were treated in the hospital, and some in critical conditions have been transferred to hospitals in Beni Walid and the capital Tripoli.
"How can we live without water and electricity? It is a human tragedy," complained 60-year-old Mohamed Meloud.
Fatima Massoud, 70, whose son was tortured to death four years ago in a prison in Misurata, also expressed disappointment.
"We came here and did not think they would treat us like this. We lived together without problems like brothers and good neighbors," she said, demanding a humane and peaceful return.
"We have been displaced and tired of moving from one place to another. We are willing to return without any aids from anyone. We will live off bread and water only, as long as we are allowed to return to our beloved land," the old woman said, with tears rolling in her eyes.
For 11-year-old Jaida, Tawergha is also the hometown she is always eager to go back to.
"We want to go back to Tawergha. We want to go back to our schools, and to play with our neighbors," said Jaida, smiling innocently.
Meanwhile, the Libyan government has warned against the attempts to undermine the reconciliation agreement between Tawergha and Misurata.
"History will witness those who obstructed the return. Let the return of the people of Tawergha to their city become a new era of comprehensive national reconciliation," the government said early in February.
According to Minister of the Affairs of Displaced People Yusuf Jalal, the government is making intensive efforts to convince relevant forces to stop obstructing the return of Tawerghans.
However, almost two weeks after the scheduled date of return, there is yet no ease of tension in prospect that could allow displaced Tawerghans to return to home.
