Libya Faces Water Contamination Crisis: Over 50 Children Poisoned in Derna

General Commission for the Search and Identification of the Missing Recovers Body in Derna (The Commission)
General Commission for the Search and Identification of the Missing Recovers Body in Derna (The Commission)
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Libya Faces Water Contamination Crisis: Over 50 Children Poisoned in Derna

General Commission for the Search and Identification of the Missing Recovers Body in Derna (The Commission)
General Commission for the Search and Identification of the Missing Recovers Body in Derna (The Commission)

Libya's National Disease Control Center in Tripoli reported that 55 children were poisoned due to polluted water in the flood-hit city of Derna.

Floods caused by Storm Daniel struck the country last weekend, mixing clean water with polluted sources.

Head of the Center, Haidar al-Sayeh, told "Libya al-Ahrar" TV that the city's health infrastructure is in shambles, and the situation is expected to deteriorate further with anticipated poisoning cases.

Sayeh urged evacuating regions with completely damaged buildings and areas where drinking water has been contaminated, especially for women and children.

Meanwhile, the UN Relief Chief, Martin Griffiths, stated Friday that the floods in Libya claimed thousands of lives in the worst natural disaster in modern history, adding that "climate and capacity have collided to cause this terrible tragedy."

Briefing the United Nations in Geneva, Griffiths said that access to the city of Derna, the epicenter of the tragedy, remained challenging.

He noted that the UN deployed a disaster assessment and coordination team of 15 people out of Geneva and key staff from the region.

Furthermore, the Government of National Unity announced the restoration of electricity and other services to many areas of Derna on Thursday evening, three days after the cyclone disaster that killed thousands and left many more missing.

The media office of the Tripoli Emergency Service quoted its director, Salem al-Farjani, on Friday, stating that operations have started to evacuate citizens from Derna, restricting access to only rescue teams, volunteers, and military forces.

The Ministry of Justice, affiliated with the Government of National Unity, urged citizens with missing family members due to the floods in Derna to head to Herisha Hospital and Fataih and Zahr al-Hamr cemeteries.

They asked the families to provide DNA samples to the judicial research and expertise team of the Forensic Medicine Department to identify unidentified victims.

On Friday, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) in Libya noted that the dead bodies from natural disasters and conflict do not generally pose health risks.

However, it stressed that dead bodies near or in water supplies can lead to health concerns, as the bodies may leak feces and contaminate water sources, leading to a risk of diarrheal or other illnesses.

Bodies should not be left in contact with drinking water sources.

The Red Cross noted that local authorities and communities could be pressured to bury the dead quickly. Still, it warned that the mismanagement of the deceased includes prolonged lasting mental distress for family members and social and legal problems.

It asserted that well-managed burials include easily traceable and adequately documented individual graves in demarcated burial sites.

The World Health Organization (WHO) and other relief organizations urged authorities not to rush forward with mass burials or mass cremations of flood victims.

The Medical Officer for biosafety and biosecurity in WHO's Health Emergencies Programme, Kazunobu Kojima, asserted that "dignified management of bodies is important for families and communities," and in the cases of conflict, is often an essential component of bringing about a swifter end to the fighting.

In a recently released statement, experts urge more structured and well-documented individual burial processes.

A UN report showed that over 1,000 individuals have been buried in mass graves since the onset of the disaster.

The report published on Thursday said that over 1,000 bodies in Derna and over 100 bodies in Albayda had been buried in mass graves after the floods on Sept. 11.

Regional Forensics Manager for Africa for the ICRC, Bilal Sablouh, told a Geneva briefing that bodies are littering the streets, washing back on shore, and are buried under collapsed buildings and debris.

"In just two hours, one of my colleagues counted over 200 bodies on the beach near Derna."

The ICRC sent over a cargo flight to Benghazi on Friday with 5,000 body bags, he added.

Sablouh warned that unexploded ordnances, common in some parts of Libya, posed a risk for those recovering the dead.



Aoun Leading Efforts to Avert Shiite Boycott of New Lebanese Govt

A handout photo made available by the Lebanese Presidency Press Office shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (C) attending a meeting with Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (L) and Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon, 14 January 2025. (Lebanese Presidency Press Office)
A handout photo made available by the Lebanese Presidency Press Office shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (C) attending a meeting with Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (L) and Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon, 14 January 2025. (Lebanese Presidency Press Office)
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Aoun Leading Efforts to Avert Shiite Boycott of New Lebanese Govt

A handout photo made available by the Lebanese Presidency Press Office shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (C) attending a meeting with Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (L) and Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon, 14 January 2025. (Lebanese Presidency Press Office)
A handout photo made available by the Lebanese Presidency Press Office shows Lebanese President Joseph Aoun (C) attending a meeting with Lebanese parliament Speaker Nabih Berri (L) and Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam at the Presidential Palace in Baabda, Lebanon, 14 January 2025. (Lebanese Presidency Press Office)

Lebanon’s Prime Minister-designate Nawaf Salam arrived in Beirut on Tuesday to kick off parliamentary consultations to form a new government.

He assured that it will “not exclude anyone”, but seek “unity and partnership.”

Asharq Al-Awsat learned that President Joseph Aoun is leading efforts to avert a Shiite boycott of the new government after the “Shiite duo” of the Hezbollah and Amal movement, which is led by parliament Speaker Nabih Berri, refrained from naming Salam for the position of PM during Monday’s consultations.

Their abstention has raised fears that the new government will not be constitutional without the representation of the largest Shiite parties in the country.

Reports have said that the duo may boycott the parliamentary consultations to form a government that Salam will hold on Wednesday.

Sources said the duo may skip the first day of talks, which will conclude on Thursday, to demonstrate its “annoyance” with the developments.

Berri, however, told Asharq Al-Awsat that the “situation is not that negative”. He did not elaborate on the duo’s next steps.

Moreover, Asharq Al-Awsat learned that French President Macron had even intervened to avoid a dispute over the government, holding telephone talks with Aoun and Berri.

Salam’s appointment as prime minister came as a major shock given the large number of votes he won from the parliamentary blocs, compared to his predecessor Najib Mikati and against the will of the Shiite duo. In past years, Hezbollah has repeatedly blocked Salam from becoming prime minister.

Aoun stressed the need to “avoid placing obstacles in the government formation process.”

Aoun held a meeting with Salam at the presidential palace on Tuesday before later being joined by Berri, who left the palace without making a statement.

After the talks, Salam spoke before reporters to express his gratitude to parliament and the people for entrusting him with the “difficult task of serving Lebanon” and “achieving the people’s dreams.”

“It is time to open a new chapter that is rooted in justice, security, progress and opportunity, so that Lebanon can be a nation of free people who are equal under their rights,” he added.

On the possible boycott of the Shiite duo, he said he was against exclusion and on the contrary supported unity. “This is my sincere call, and my hands are extended to everyone,” he added.

The formation of a government in Lebanon often takes months due to political wrangling.

Aoun said on Tuesday that Lebanon has a “very major opportunity that we should all seize.”

He received a delegation from the Supreme Islamic Shiite Council.

“Obstacles must not be placed in the formation process,” he urged. “We must send positive signals to the international community that Lebanon can govern itself, carry out reconstruction transparently and build the state that we are all calling for.”

“If one segment of Lebanon is broken, then the whole country will break,” he stressed, saying Monday’s consultations to appoint Salam were a democratic process and that the public interest remains the top priority.

Aoun, who was elected last week, added that he has declined visits from well-wishers over his election “out of respect for the martyrs” who were killed during Israel’s war on Lebanon, which ended with a ceasefire in November.