Hundreds of people protested in the eastern Libyan city of Derna on Sept. 18, venting anger against authorities and demanding accountability a week after a flood killed thousands of residents and destroyed entire neighborhoods.
Protesters took aim at officials, including the head of the eastern-based Libyan parliament, Aguila Saleh, during the demonstration outside the Sahaba Mosque. Some sat on the roof in front of its golden dome, a Derna landmark.
The protest marks the first large demonstration since the flood, which swept through Derna when two dams in the hills outside the city failed during a powerful storm, unleashing a devastating torrent.
“Aguila, we don’t want you! All Libyans are brothers!” protesters chanted, calling for national unity in a country left politically fractured by more than a decade of conflict and chaos.
The full scale of the death toll has yet to emerge, with thousands of people still missing. Officials have given widely varying death tolls. The World Health Organization has confirmed 3,922 deaths.
Saleh has sought to deflect blame from authorities, describing the flood as an “unprecedented natural disaster.” But commentators have drawn attention to warnings given in advance, including a paper published last year by a hydrologist outlining the city’s vulnerability to floods and the urgent need to maintain the dams. (Reuters)
毎週届く！
