Has Haftar’s Corruption Exacerbated the Number of Casualties in Libya’s Hurricane?

As Hurricane Daniel ravaged the Libyan city of Derna, leaving behind a trail of death and destruction, some residents accused the eastern Libyan authorities of deliberately neglecting their plight and preventing them from evacuating the city.

According to local sources cited by The Guardian, the mayor of Derna, Akram Abdel Aziz, had asked for permission to evacuate the city before the storm hit but was denied by Khalifa Haftar, the commander of the self-styled Libyan National Army that has controlled the city since 2018.

Jalel Harchaoui, a Libyan expert at the Royal United Services Institute, a British think tank, told Middle East Eye that the refusal to evacuate was motivated by a lack of trust in the city’s residents and a desire to keep them under siege.

Derna, a city known for its artistic and intellectual heritage, has been one of the most rebellious cities against Haftar’s forces, which laid siege to it between 2015 and 2018 before capturing it in a bloody campaign.

Harchaoui said that Haftar ordered all residents of Derna to stay in their homes, which was “the worst decision he could make after it was too late.”

 

Devastating Hurricane

The hurricane, which was the strongest to hit Libya in decades, caused widespread flooding, power outages, and damage to buildings and infrastructure in Derna and other parts of the country.

The United Nations and several humanitarian organizations have expressed their concern about the situation and offered their assistance to the Libyan authorities.

The devastating hurricane that swept across the Mediterranean Sea has left the city of Derna in ruins, killing more than 12,000 people and leaving thousands more missing, according to Libyan officials and aid workers.

Hurricane Daniel, which struck on 12 September, unleashed torrential rains and floods that submerged neighborhoods, collapsed dams and buildings, and washed away cars and trees. The storm also affected other cities in eastern Libya, including Benghazi, the country’s second-largest city.

The Libyan Ministry of Interior said in a statement that the death toll in Derna had risen to 12,000, based on the latest statistics from local rescue teams.

The ministry’s media official, Muhammad Abu Lamousha, said that there were still thousands of missing people due to the disaster, and called for international intervention to assist in the rescue efforts.

Eyewitnesses in Derna, which has a population of about 125,000, described scenes of horror and destruction. Mohamed al-Qbesi, director of al-Wahda Hospital in Derna, told Reuters that 1,700 people were killed in one of the main neighborhoods in the city and 500 people in another neighborhood.

He said that corpses were everywhere: in the sea, in valleys, and under buildings.

Hisham Abu Shkiwat, Minister of Civil Aviation and a member of the Emergency Committee in the government commissioned by Parliament, said that he had visited Derna and witnessed the extent of the damage. “I am not exaggerating when I say that 25% of the city has disappeared. Many buildings collapsed,” he said.

Tamer Ramadan, head of mission at the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies (IFRC), said that the death toll would be “massive.”

He said that the number of missing people was close to 10,000, according to independent sources of information.

Martin Griffiths, UN aid chief, said on X (formerly Twitter) that emergency teams were being mobilized to provide assistance on the ground. He expressed his condolences to the families of the victims and his solidarity with the Libyan people.

 

Dams Collapse

A seasonal river that runs through the eastern Libyan city of Derna burst its dams, causing massive flooding and destruction that left thousands of people dead or missing, according to local officials and aid agencies.

The river, which flows from the highlands southward and is usually contained by a series of dams, was swollen by heavy rains from Storm Daniel, a rare weather phenomenon that hit the region over the weekend.

One of the dams, located 11.5 kilometers from the city, collapsed under the pressure of the water, creating a huge wave that swept away everything in its path. A video clip posted on social media showed the remnants of the dam and the muddy pools that surrounded it.

The city of Derna, which has a population of about 150,000 people, is divided by the river and has been under the control of a warlord, Khalifa Belqasim Haftar, since 2018. Haftar’s forces have been accused of imposing a siege on the city and restricting humanitarian access.

Some reports suggested that Haftar’s forces denied a request by the mayor of Derna to evacuate the city when the storm hit, telling people to stay at home instead.

Abdelbaset Masud, a Libyan political activist, told Al-Estiklal that the flooding in Derna was part of a wider disaster that affected dozens of towns and villages in eastern Libya, where infrastructure is poor and public services are scarce.

“The flooding in eastern Libya has highlighted the vulnerability of the country to natural disasters and climate change, as well as the need for political reconciliation and economic development,” Masud said.

“Several science experts warned last year that Derna was exposed to recurrent floods through dry valleys and urged regular maintenance of dams in the area. They even clearly stated that ‘Severe floods would be catastrophic for the population in the valley and city,’” Masud added.

“Reports suggest that the mayor of Derna asked [Khalifa Belqasim] Haftar’s Libyan National Army for permission to evacuate the city when the storm hit, but he was denied, with the army telling people instead to stay at home,” Masud noted.

“The humanitarian situation and the delay in rescuing victims have been exacerbated by the weak preparations of the responsible authorities in and around Benghazi, Tobruk, al-Bayda, and Derna.”

According to Masud, the lack of funds and financial allocations directed to development projects since 2014 was because they were directed to finance the war effort, in addition to the preoccupation of Derna and other cities for many years in a war led by Haftar for personal interests and for the benefit of external parties.

“All that mattered to the retired general was not to improve the living conditions of citizens in the areas he controlled, develop infrastructure such as utilities, road networks, rainwater drainage, and dams, but rather seize the rule of Libya, succeed Gaddafi and bequeath the country to his son Saddam,” Masud concluded.