DUBAI: Arab nations have united in mourning over the deadly disasters that have struck Libya and Morocco in recent days.
An earthquake measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale earlier struck near the High Atlas Mountains 72 kilometers southwest of Marrakesh, with violent tremors levelling entire villages and leaving a death toll that has so far exceeded 2,800 and nearly as many injured.
In eastern Libya, at least 2,000 people have been killed and thousands more are missing as Storm Daniel caused devastating floods, mainly in the city of Derna.
Through a Foreign Ministry statement on Tuesday, Saudi Arabia expressed grief and solidarity with “Libya and its brotherly people with the victims of the floods that occurred in the Libyan city of Derna.”
King Salman and Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman also earlier ordered the activation of an airlift to provide aid to Morocco after the country’s deadly earthquake.
The Crown Prince also spoke on the phone with King Mohammed VI of Morocco to confirm the Kingdom’s solidarity with Morocco and its people.
Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi declared three days of mourning on Tuesday in solidarity with the victims of the humanitarian disasters in Morocco and Libya.
He also ordered members of the armed forces to provide humanitarian assistance, including rescue teams, rescue equipment and shelter camps to Libya and Morocco.
In the United Arab Emirates, President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan telephoned top Libyan officials to express the emirate’s condolences to the flood victims.
Sheikh Mohamed ordered the dispatch of emergency aid as well as search and rescue teams to assist the Libyan government in efforts to mitigate the damage caused by the floods.
Meanwhile, Jordan’s King Abdullah II issued a directive to provide aid to Libya, reiterating that he “stands in solidarity with Libya in these tragic circumstances.”
Iraq also offered consolation through a statement from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs: “We express our solidarity with the government and people of the brotherly state of Libya, we pray to Almighty God for mercy for the victims and speedy recovery and safety for the injured. .”
Meanwhile, Kuwaiti ruler Sheikh Nawaf Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah sent a telegram to the Libyan government expressing his grief over the victims of the floods that hit the North African country and wishing for the recovery of the injured.
Meanwhile, Tunisian Prime Minister Ahmed Hachani called Abdul Hamid Al-Dabaiba, the head of the Libyan Government of National Accord, to express his “sincere condolences to the fraternal Libyan people over the death of a number of its citizens as a result of this natural disaster.”
