Libya: six months after the Derna disaster, Amnesty calls for an investigation into responsibility for the tragedy

Six months ago to the day, the town of Derna, in Libya, was submerged by water after two dams broke caused by Storm Daniel.

Results: more than 4,300 dead, thousands missing and nearly 45,000 displaced.

This Monday, March 11, 2024, Amnesty International publishes a report on this disaster in which it denounces the lack of fairness in access to compensation and calls for in-depth investigations into the responsibility of powerful military and political actors.

View of the town of Derna, Libya, devastated by floods.

© Jamal Alkomaty / AP

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It is a real indictment against the government of national unity and the Libyan Arab armed forces that the NGO draws up in this report.

Amnesty first denounces the inadequacy of the warnings and the contradictory instructions issued by the authorities before the passage of storm Daniel.  

“

Some high-ranking officers, including the security director, asked the population to fully respect the precautionary protocol in force in the city, while in other areas, authorities called on the population to evacuate.

So people were really lost

,” says Bassam al-Kantar, Amnesty’s

Libya

researcher .

And added: “

And those who evacuated areas close to the sea moved to places that were most affected

.”

Although 13,000 people affected by the disaster were compensated, the NGO points out the lack of equity in access to relief and financial compensation.

Certain displaced families, refugees and migrants, were thus excluded.

“

They never received any compensation

,” complains Mr. al-Kantar.

Read alsoLibya: the conference on the reconstruction of Derna results in modest commitments

“

The eastern government said it had set up a committee two weeks after the disaster to allow a full assessment of foreigners who were affected by the floods.

But 5 months after the creation of this committee, nothing has been done

,” he adds.

It is impossible today, according to Amnesty, to make the slightest criticism of the way in which the authorities managed the crisis.

At the same time, the NGO denounces the lack of investigations into the responsibilities of civil servants, high-ranking commanders and members of powerful armed groups.

“ 

Blocks of buildings that were completely washed away

 ”

Raif Wafa, director in Libya of the NGO Super Novae, mobilized to help the disaster victims, contacted in Tripoli, protests in the same way: “

 There are certain people who are still not able to return home.

These are blocks of buildings - not a house or two - these are blocks of buildings that have been completely washed away.

And the infrastructure is still weak, the internet doesn't work very well, the electricity still goes out. 

»

“ 

In terms of care

,” he said again, “

there are a lot of NGOs, international and local NGOs responded quite quickly, so there are a lot of clinics that have had the opportunity to reopen, including the clinic in which we operate ourselves;

This made it possible to limit the damage humanly. 

»

Read alsoFloods in Libya: the Derna disaster could have been avoided, experts conclude

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