The protest is a message that “governments have failed to deal with the crisis”. We now want to hold those responsible accountable.
Hundreds of people protested on Monday in the Libyan port city of Darna, which has been badly affected by floods, demanding the removal of the local council and the unification of Libya. The Libyan television channel Al-Masar showed footage in which protesters demanded that those responsible for the disaster be held accountable.
According to eyewitnesses, protesters also attempted to set fire to the home of the currently suspended mayor, Abdel-Moneim al-Gheithy, that night. The devastating floods also caused two dams in Darna to fail. Authorities are accused of not maintaining them properly and thus contributing to the spread of the disaster.
Student Said Mansour called for an investigation into why the dams broke. Because as a result “we would have lost thousands of loved ones”. Taha Miftah, 39, said the protest sent a message that “governments have failed to deal with the crisis”, placing blame in particular on parliament. He called for an international investigation into the disaster and “reconstruction under international supervision.”
Cracked dams despite funds for maintenance
Darna was particularly hard hit by the flood disaster. Local authorities do not yet have exact figures on how many people were victims of the serious floods in eastern Libya. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), around 4,000 deaths had been identified and registered with death certificates by the end of last week.
Libyan public prosecutor Al-Sedik al-Sur has launched an investigation into the dam ruptures. The dams would have failed and money would have been allocated for maintenance. The Public Ministry now wants to clarify the whereabouts of the money. Derna Mayor Al-Gheithy has also been suspended from office for the time being.
In fact, Libya is divided into two parts. The civil war country has a government in the West that is internationally recognized. In the East, where Storm Daniel caused particularly extensive damage, a different government is in power that is not internationally recognized. “Daniel” captured Libya on September 10. (APA)