Catastrophic situation in Libya: possibly 20,000 dead in the coastal town of Darna

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As rescue teams continue to search through the rubble of collapsed buildings, victims are left to be buried in mass graves, wrapped in body bags. According to the government in the east of the country, more than 5,000 people were killed. The mayor of the particularly affected coastal town of Darna even estimates 20,000 possible deaths. “We expect a very high number of casualties. Based on the destroyed districts in the city of Darna, 18,000 to 20,000 deaths could occur,” Mayor Abdel-Moneim al-Gheithy told Arabic television channel Al Arabia.

Meanwhile, there are desperate calls for more humanitarian aid for survivors in the North African country, which has been embroiled in civil war for years.

Meanwhile, the German Federal Technical Assistance Agency (THW) launched aid deliveries. According to the organization, there are 100 tents with lighting, 1,000 camp beds, 1,000 blankets, 1,000 sleeping mats and 80 power generators. According to a spokesperson, eight trucks left for Wunstorf near Hannover on Wednesday evening. The cargo was to be taken to Libya from the Bundeswehr base there on Thursday.

Refugees among the victims

The aid organization Doctors Without Borders also announced the arrival of an emergency team in Darna on Thursday. The organization announced on platform X (formerly Twitter) that it consists of logistics and medical staff. They also bring emergency equipment to treat the injured and body bags for the Libyan Red Crescent.

The concerns also apply to the hundreds of thousands of refugees and other migrants from more than 40 countries for whom Libya is a springboard to Europe, the English-language newspaper ‘Arab News’, based in Saudi Arabia, reported. It was said that there are also likely to be casualties among these people swept away by the floods.

Meanwhile, the European Union has activated its Civil Protection Mechanism and is coordinating aid offers from several EU countries. The United Nations also has a team on site. Libya had submitted a request for international assistance.

10,000 people are missing

Besides Darna, other cities such as Al-Baida, Al-Marj, Susa and Shahat are also affected. “We just need people who understand the situation: logistical help, dogs that can smell people and pick them out of the ground. We just need humanitarian aid, people who really know what they are doing,” a Libyan doctor working at a clinic near Darnas told British broadcaster BBC.

Storm “Daniel”, which had previously raged in Greece, hit Libya on Sunday. (SDA)

Source: Blick