Britain to help evacuate migrants in Libya

LONDON, April 18 (UPI) -- Britain will help pay for the evacuation of 5,000 migrants trapped by fighting in western Libya, the country's international development secretary said.

Andrew Mitchell said Britain would charter ships to remove the people from rebel-held Misurata, scene of fierce fighting for about six weeks, the BBC reported Monday.

The minister spoke with the BBC in London before leaving for a United Nations meeting in New York to discuss the humanitarian situation in Libya.

Aid workers and Misurata residents have called the situation dire, reporting shortages of food, power, water and medicine, as forces loyal to Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi pound the city.

Mitchell said Britain would help underwrite the ships chartered by the International Organization for Migration, as well as provide funds for the International Medical Corps to provide medical assistance.

The minister told the BBC that Britain would do all it could to press for access to people in need.

He said Britain would work to ensure the international community aligns with U.N. efforts to assist Libyan civilians trapped by the fighting between rebels seeking Gadhafi's ouster and the troops loyal to him.

"We've been quite effective at coping with the problems on the borders but inside Libya because of the actions of the Gadhafi regime the situation has deteriorated most markedly in Misurata," Mitchell said. "It is extremely important that the international community provides the necessary humanitarian support to help with that."

The International Organization for Migration said it already evacuated two boats of migrants from Misurata.