[SatNews] More than 30,000 calls have been made by refugees fleeing the conflict in Libya, using mobile satellite services provided by Télécoms Sans Frontières (TSF).

The Inmarsat-sponsored aid agency has provided humanitarian calling using IsatPhone Pro, Mini M and BGAN for voice calls made from the refugee transit camp at La Chucha in southern Tunisia. The United Nations (UN) estimates about 448,000 people have fled Libya since the crisis began - more than 220,000 crossing the border into Tunisia.

TSF deployed a small team as part of a European Commission's humanitarian aid department, Echo, and has also been providing BGAN connectivity for European Union representatives, for the UN Humanitarian Commissioner for Relief and the Tunisian Civil Defence. TSF spokeswoman Myriam Annette said, "We deployed in late February and have since supported calls to more than 110 calling destinations, mostly international, amounting to 62,000 calling minutes. For around 70 per cent of the refugees who came to us for help at La Chucha, the first call they made after crossing the border was via TSF."

Latest estimates from the UN indicate between 13,200 and 13,600 people remain stranded at camps and transit points in Tunisia, Egypt, Niger and Algeria. TSF expects to remain in Tunisia for the foreseeable future as the humanitarian crisis continues.