2023-09-13 15:52:09
Las floods in Libya They arrive in a country immersed in instability and the conflict. More of 6.000 muertos and thousands of missing people make up the tragedy that its citizens consider could have been avoided. Although away from the media spotlight, the northern nation of Africa has never recovered from the consequences of a bloody Arab Spring. Now, a divided country It tries to take stock of the misfortune faced by a State or States, rather, absent. Below are some of the latest events that have marked the reality in Libya in recent years.
The overthrow of the dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 after 42 years in power did not bring with it the desired democratic justice. Since then, the country has been mired in internal disputes that entrenched themselves in the civil war fought between 2014 and 2020. During all these years of conflict, various local and international groups have occupied different parts of the territory, currently dividing it into two. The eastern city Herethe most affected by the floods, was occupied by Islamic State in 2014. A year later, the terrorist group was expelled to give way to fierce battles between the forces of the general Jalifa Haftar and the militant group Shura Council of Mujahideen which controlled the city until 2019. Now, it is under Haftar’s control.
Years of internal violence have left Libya divided into two governments. In Tripolithe first Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeidah He heads the internationally recognized Libyan Executive. This administration, which controls the western part of the country, has the support of Türkiye, Qatar e Italia. In Benghazi (east), Osama Hamad He is the prime minister who has the support of the powerful Haftar. This region, affected by the catastrophe, receives the support of Egypt, Russia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates. Repeated international efforts to unite the two rival parliaments, including elections planned for 2021 that were never held, have not worked. Now, this division is making it difficult emergency response.
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Libya is known for its energy wealth with the reserves of Petroleum largest in Africa and the ninth largest in the world. Crude oil production, the country’s most valuable export, has at times been slowed to a trickle by blockades and threats to business security. Both administrations have fought over the allocation of oil revenues. Political instability has therefore weakened a poor infrastructure due to lack of care and investment. The danger of these dilapidated facilities, compounded by environmental degradation, has resulted in the dam collapse of southern Derna that have aggravated the flooding. Furthermore, the country does not have its own resources to manage a catastrophe of such proportions. According to the United Nations, Libya is currently the only country that has not yet developed a climate strategy.
The local population has not been the only one seriously affected by this tragedy. Thousands of migrants in Libya were already vulnerable before the floods. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), there are some 600,000 migrants in the country, many of which are in the affected areas. Libya is a transit country for people from some 40 countries who, from their coast, try to head to Europe to escape conflict and poverty. Militias and human traffickers have benefited from instability in the country, crossing migrants across borders from six countries, including Egypt, Algeria and Sudan.
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