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Groundwater Upsurge Floods Homes in Libyan Coastal Town

Many locals have fled their homes, where walls have cracked or collapsed, amid fears of a worsening environmental crisis - AFP
Many locals have fled their homes, where walls have cracked or collapsed, amid fears of a worsening environmental crisis - AFP
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Groundwater Upsurge Floods Homes in Libyan Coastal Town

Many locals have fled their homes, where walls have cracked or collapsed, amid fears of a worsening environmental crisis - AFP
Many locals have fled their homes, where walls have cracked or collapsed, amid fears of a worsening environmental crisis - AFP

Stagnant water and squishy mud have flooded houses, streets and palm groves around the Libyan northwestern town of Zliten, spreading a foul smell and creating breeding grounds for mosquitos.

Many locals have fled their homes, where walls have cracked or collapsed, amid fears of a worsening environmental crisis in the area about 160 kilometres (100 miles) east of the capital Tripoli.

"Water began coming out two months ago and still continues to rise and submerge our wells," Mohamad Ali Dioub, owner of a farm some four kilometres from Zliten, told AFP. "All my fruit trees -- apple, apricot and pomegranate trees - are dead."

The 60-year-old said he had rented water trucks to pump out the stagnant water and bought loads of sand to dump onto the soggy ground, in an effort to save some of his valuable date palms.

The area's usually sandy and light earth has become "muddy, black, and smells bad," said another farmer, Mohamad al-Nouari, whose land has been completely swamped.

Almost 50 families have been relocated, said Moftah Hamadi, the mayor of Zliten, a town of 350,000 people known for its Sufi shrines, al-Asmariya University and palm and olive groves.

Prime Minister Abdelhamid Dbeibah vowed this month to "remediate this crisis in a scientific and rapid manner" and urged authorities to compensate or relocate displaced families.

But there is no consensus yet on what has caused the flooding.

Catastrophic floods ravaged Libya's eastern city of Derna in September when two dams collapsed. The gigantic flood surge killed more than 4,300 people and left over 8,000 missing, according to the UN.

Locals in Zliten say the groundwater flooding is not new, and point to reed-covered areas from years-old inundations. But they also say the phenomenon has now hit them on a previously unknown scale.

Media reports have pointed to a variety of possible causes, from poor drainage infrastructure to damaged pipelines and heavy winter rains.

Foreign specialists, including from Britain, Egypt and Greece, have travelled to Zliten, hoping to identify the origin of the problem and find solutions.

Elsewhere in the world, rising sea levels have been linked to coastal groundwater upsurges as dense salt water can seep deep into the ground and push up the lighter freshwater.

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Arab World

Washington Sanctions Individuals, Entities Tied to Houthi Financier

The US Treasury Department imposed a series of sanctions on entities and individuals linked to the Houthis (Reuters)
The US Treasury Department imposed a series of sanctions on entities and individuals linked to the Houthis (Reuters)
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Washington Sanctions Individuals, Entities Tied to Houthi Financier

The US Treasury Department imposed a series of sanctions on entities and individuals linked to the Houthis (Reuters)
The US Treasury Department imposed a series of sanctions on entities and individuals linked to the Houthis (Reuters)

The United States on Friday imposed new sanctions on individuals, companies, and vessels linked to the shipping network of Sa’id al-Jamal, an Iran-based Houthi financial official backed by the Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force (IRGC-QF) to facilitate the smuggling of oil and arms to Houthis.
“The United States is imposing sanctions on five companies and five individuals and identifying eight vessels as blocked property for their ties to the network of Iran-based, Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force-backed, US-designated Houthi financial operative Sa’id al-Jamal,” State Department Spokesperson Matthew Miller said in a statement.
While al-Jamal is based in Iran and his network is backed by the Quds Force, Miller stated that, “The Iranian regime’s support for regional terrorist groups continues to destabilize the Middle East.”
The spokesperson also noted that the revenue from al-Jamal’s network generates funds that enable the Houthis’ regional attacks, including their disruption of international shipping in vital waterways.
“This is the eleventh tranche of sanctions we have imposed on Sa’id al-Jamal’s network, and we will continue to use the tools at our disposal to target these illicit revenue streams,” he said.
Meanwhile, the Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) pledged to utilize all available tools to disrupt this key source of illicit revenue that enables the Houthis’ destabilizing activities.
Its action was taken pursuant to counterterrorism authority Executive Order 13224, as amended, the Treasury said.
Earlier on Thursday, the Treasury said it sanctioned eighteen companies, individuals, and vessels for transporting and selling Iranian oil to al-Jamal.
The sanctions are imposed on the captains of vessels transporting illicit oil as well as the companies that managed and operated these ships.
“The revenue from al-Jamal’s network continues to enable Houthi attacks in the region, including missile and unmanned aerial vehicle attacks on Israel and commercial vessels transiting the Red Sea,” the Treasury said.
“The Houthis remain reliant on Sa’id al-Jamal’s international network and affiliated facilitators to transport and sell Iranian oil, continuing their campaign of violence,” said Acting Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Bradley T. Smith.
“Treasury remains committed to utilizing all available tools to disrupt this key source of illicit revenue that enables the Houthis’ destabilizing activities,” he added.
The al-Jamal network relies on a network of front companies and willing partners in multiple jurisdictions to facilitate the sale of Iranian petroleum and petroleum products for the benefit of the Houthis, according to the Treasury.
Earlier this month, the United States imposed sanctions on one individual and three companies that have facilitated weapons procurement and smuggling operations for the Houthis.
These facilitators and suppliers have enabled the terrorist group to acquire dual-use and military grade materials and components needed to manufacture, maintain, and deploy advanced missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles that threaten the interests of the United States and its allies.
Additionally, Washington sanctioned one entity linked to illicit Houthi commercial shipments, as well as sanctioning that entity’s two vessels, including one that transported shipments on behalf of the network of Houthi financial official Sa’id al-Jamal and an affiliate of Iran’s Armed Forces General Staff.
Last June, the US also imposed new sanctions on three individuals and six entities that have facilitated weapons procurement for Yemen’s Houthis.
The sanctions targeted a ship involved in arms smuggling for the Iran-backed group, and companies based in China, the Sultanate of Oman, and the UAE.
OFAC said in a statement that the sanctions involved an individual based in China.
“Ali Abd-al-Wahhab Muhammad al-Wazir is a China-based Houthi-affiliated individual who plays a key role in procuring materials that enable Houthi forces to manufacture advanced conventional weapons inside Yemen,” it said.
The statement also noted that al-Wazir uses his China-based company, Guangzhou Tasneem Trading Company Limited (Guangzhou Tasneem), to obtain these items and ship them to Yemen.
Guangzhou Tasneem is a wholly owned subsidiary of Hong Kong-based Tasneem Trading Company Limited.
The US Treasury also imposed sanctions on another individual, Muaadh Ahmed Mohammed al-Haifi, who runs the Oman-based International Smart Digital Interface Limited Liability Company (ISDI) that has purchased and facilitated the transfer of cruise missile components, manufacturing equipment, and other dual-use materials into Yemen.
According to the Treasury, al-Haifi’s activities had played a key role in the 2020 Houthi attacks on a Saudi Aramco facility in the region using a Quds-type land attack cruise missile that contained components that ISDI had sourced from a PRC-based supplier.
Also, the Treasury imposed sanctions on the Cameroon-flagged OTARIA, which is managed by UAE-based Stellar Wave Marine L.L.C and captained by Vyacheslav Salyga.