Flooding in Libya (2023)
Khalifa Haftar and the Libyan National Army militia are said to be monitoring the arrival of humanitarian aid in the city of Derna
Sun Sep 17, 2023 3:19pm BST
As search and rescue teams continue to search for bodies trapped under the mud and rubble of their homes in the Libyan coastal city of Derna, observers say warlord Khalifa Haftar and his sons are using disaster relief to exert control rather than secure vital humanitarian aid Help reaches the civilian population.
At least 11,300 people have died and more than 10,000 are missing after two dams burst during a violent storm last week, according to the Libyan Red Crescent.
“Cities were wiped out”: Libyan reporters on the “terrible, harrowing” consequences of the floods
The resulting floods have completely destroyed nearly 900 buildings in Derna, according to the country’s Government of National Unity, based in the northwestern city of Tripoli. More than 200 buildings were partially damaged and almost 400 others were completely submerged in mud, it said, meaning a quarter of all buildings in Derna were affected by the flooding.
Frantic rescue efforts continued to find the remaining survivors as bodies continued to wash up on the shore. First responders on the scene often worked while surrounded by militants from the Libyan National Army, a sprawling military coalition loyal to Haftar, while observers tried to keep a tight grip on vital aid arriving in the crisis-hit city.
An aerial view of the devastation in Derna, Libya, September 17, 2023. Photo: Halil Fidan/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images
Public access to the center of Derna, which was hardest hit by the flooding, was closed and the city was officially declared a disaster area. The citizens of Derna are struggling to survive without access to electricity, clean drinking water or food.
“The water carried away my son before my eyes”: Sad Libyans mourn lost loved ones
Late last week, the head of Libya’s eastern parliament, Osama Hamad, said authorities were considering sealing off the entire city, once home to 100,000 people, over fears of the spread of water-borne diseases.
“Essentially, there is a military presence that is creating bottlenecks rather than conducive to providing aid,” said Emadeddin Badi, Libya analyst at the Atlantic Council. “The main thrust of the relief effort was driven not by the military leadership, which had a vested interest in giving the impression of being in control while shirking responsibility and blaming the victims, but instead by volunteers, medical teams , the Red Crescent, Boy Scouts and foreign search and rescue teams.”
Haftar, who has led a military campaign to unilaterally control large parts of eastern Libya since 2014, visited Derna on Friday. He praised the actions of first responders as well as members of the LNA, a coalition of militias led by the aging former CIA agent and U.S. citizen, who critics accuse of ruling areas under his control like a military dictator.
“On the public relations side, they are using their pre-existing propaganda channels to create the impression that they are in control, while at the same time being the main interface for the crisis relief administration and the city’s administrators,” Badi said. “But that also leads to bottlenecks everywhere. “Haftar’s visit was a microcosm of this issue, everything was frozen for an hour for a PR stunt.”
Khalifa Haftar (right) met with the Chief of Staff of the Egyptian Armed Forces, Lt. Gen. Osama Askar, in Benghazi on September 12. According to the Egyptian Ministry of Defense, Askar traveled with a military delegation and disaster relief. Photo: Egyptian Ministry of Defense/AFP/Getty Images
Haftar’s sons, each of whom also controls their own extensive networks of financial and sometimes military interests in eastern Libya, have responded to the humanitarian crisis in Derna by seeking to further exert control over disaster relief. On the same day that the disaster struck Derna, Khalifa Haftar’s eldest son Elseddik expressed interest in running for Libya’s presidency in the long-delayed elections.
Observers said 32-year-old Saddam Haftar, often seen as the likely heir despite his brothers’ efforts, quickly used his role as head of Libya’s disaster management committee to legitimize his international standing while maintaining a tight grip on aid.
Saddam Haftar heads the Tariq Ben Zayed Brigades, a militia that is part of the LNA and was recently accused by Amnesty International of “carrying out a range of horrors, including unlawful killings, torture and other ill-treatment, and violence Disappearances, rape and other sexual acts”. Violence and displacement – without fear of consequences.”
Jalel Harchaoui, a Libya specialist and associate fellow at the Royal United Services Institute, pointed to Saddam Haftar’s efforts to demonstrate control over the international aid teams arriving in Derna and how this had slowed vital disaster relief in times of crisis: “Everything is focused .” in the hands of the Haftar family. I wish I could tell you that there are other centers of power in eastern Libya, but there is nothing like that.”
After a military intervention by NATO forces to support an uprising against former dictator Muammar Gaddafi, Libya has remained sharply divided over the past decade between eastern and western factions, each with their own patchwork of military interests.
Harchaoui said the Haftar clan’s control over the response effort, particularly the prominent role of Saddam Haftar, gave little hope that a domestic or international investigation into the deaths in Derna could fully examine their role as responsible officials, as well as anyone else responsible.
Libya’s Attorney General al-Sediq al-Sour pledged to investigate the collapse of both dams in Derna and provide millions of dollars in funding to preserve the structures, built in the 1970s. While al-Sour promised to launch investigations into local authorities in Derna and previous governments, he also met with Saddam Haftar. Local television reported that the mayor of Derna was suspended on Saturday pending an investigation.
“Saddam positions himself as the boss. You have to give physical access to the victims and the city, and to do that they rely on your goodwill,” Harchaoui said. “Things are slowly moving towards a conclusion, namely that only mid-level officials can be blamed. A large part of the conclusion is precluded from the outset, it is not an open investigation.”
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