TRIPOLI: More than three weeks after Libya’s deadly flood disaster, the divided nation’s two rival administrations remain bitterly at odds on how to manage the massive assistance and reconstruction effort.
The aftermath of the disaster on 10-11 September has seen the rival camps in the east and west of the war-scarred Libya both announce their own plans for a reconstruction conference.
The United Nations (UN), Western countries, and international observers warn that Libya’s dysfunctional politics are hampering efforts to assist the tens of thousands of displaced survivors rebuild their lives, according to AFP.
Abdoulaye Bathily, the UN mission chief in Libya, emphasized on Monday that the competing efforts are counterproductive, deepening the existing divisions in Libya to impede reconstruction efforts.
The United States (US), France, Germany, Britain, and Italy backed his demand for a unified Libyan national mechanism coordinated with global partners to deliver accountable and transparent relief.
Claudia Gazzini of think-tank the International Crisis Group warned that the two rival administrations in Libya might use this crisis in opportunistic ways, including by possibly diverting funds.
She warned that there are already signs of turf wars as well as corresponding disinformation campaigns between the rivals over who should take charge of reconstruction efforts.
The humanitarian needs are immense in the devastated city of Derna, where a huge flash flood broke through two upstream dams and swept the whole neighborhoods into the Mediterranean, leaving behind an apocalyptic wasteland.
Flood’s Havoc on Libya
Local officials have declared a death toll of 3,845, but have yet to release an official tally of how many people remain missing — a number global aid groups put at nearly 10,000 in the first days after the disaster.
The scale of the vast destruction was blamed on the sheer volume of the rains brought by hurricane-strength Storm Daniel, and on the impact the country’s years of chaos have had on critical infrastructure, emergency response, and early-warning systems.
