Volker Turk called on Libyan politicians to unite and put aside divisions to ensure full support for victims, especially vulnerable groups, when international aid arrives.
The UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Volker Turk, called on Libyan politicians on Wednesday to overcome divisions and guarantee support to the victims of the major floods, while the first aid begins to arrive in the country.
“This is the time to be united around a purpose: all those affected must receive help, regardless of any affiliation,” said Volker Turk, quoted by the EFE agency, after the catastrophe that has already caused more than five thousand dead. In Derna alone, the most affected area of the dozens of cities in northeastern Libya hit by Cyclone Daniel on Sunday, and more than 10,000 missing, according to figures from the country’s eastern government.
Floods in Libya have already killed at least 6,000 people and the number could reach 20,000. In the desert, 40 km lakes were formed.
For the UN leader, “it is important to pay special attention to the protection of vulnerable groups, who are at even greater risk after a catastrophe of this type and human rights must be at the center of the response to this painful situation.” ”.
Libya suffers a serious sociopolitical crisis for more than a decade and is the The largest migrant transit country in sub-Saharan Africa. who seek to reach Europe through the Mediterranean, which makes them victims of exploitation both by trafficking networks and by the security forces themselves.
Türk recalled that the disaster in Libya is “another deadly reminder of the catastrophic impact that climate change can have on the world” and expressed his solidarity with all those who have lost their loved ones.
International aid is now beginning to arrive in Derna, according to the EFE agency, while morgues are collapsing due to the incessant arrival of corpses.
The head of the Presidential Council – who acts as Head of State -, Mohamed al Manfi, declared this Wednesday that it is “a catastrophe that exceeds Libyan capabilities”and insisted on urgency of international aidwho began to arrive progressively due to the difficult access to this valley surrounded by mountains, submerged and isolated, without electricity or telecommunications.
The coastal city was until now inaccessible by land After torrential rains caused the collapse of two dams, located a few kilometers from inhabited areas, they released 33 million liters of water that devastated entire neighborhoods and the four bridges that cross the Derna River to the sea.
The Minister of Aviation of this executive, Hichem Chkiut, announced that it is likely that 25% of the city has disappeared under water.
More than 30 thousand inhabitants were displaced only in Derna, revealed the International Organization for Migration (IOM).
One of the reasons for the rapid collapse of these reservoirs could be, according to experts, the poor state of their infrastructure, the lack of safety measures, as well as the lack of maintenance.
The opposing authorities in the east and west of the country fail to coordinate a joint strategy, which some analysts describe as “chaotic management,” although both have humanitarian aid requested separately on Monday and declared three days of national mourning.
However, the Government of National Unity (GNU), based in Tripoli (west) and recognized by the international community, sent a plane with 14 tons of supplies and almost a hundred medical personnel to the eastern area.
Furthermore, on Tuesday the Council of Ministers approved a budget of 384 million euros for reconstruction from Benghazi and Derna and 96 million euros for the victims in the declared disaster areas that also affected Al Bayda, Al Marj and Soussa.
Images published on social networks show some hospitals, such as that of the neighboring city of Shiha, where several hundred bodies are piled up in the outer courtyard due to lack of space in the morgue.
The shortage of resources forced rescuers and volunteers to carry victims out of the rubble with household items and bury them in mass graves in the Martouba cemetery, about twenty kilometers away.
These are the The worst floods that the country has suffered in the last four decades.with torrential rains and strong winds that reached 80 kilometers per hour and caused electrical towers to collapse, according to the Libyan National Meteorological Center.
The European Union announced this Wednesday the sending of emergency aid and food to Libya and Spain and the United Kingdom also announced their humanitarian support of one and 1.1 million euros respectively.
Turkey will set up two field hospitals there and Egypt will establish reception centers for survivors, while Jordan has chartered a plane with 11 million tons of goods for those affected.
Source: Observadora
