Libya floods: Eastern government postpones Derna reconstruction conference

FILE - A view of the destruction after flooding in Derna, Libya, on Sept. 16, 2023. Libya’s chief prosecutor said Monday Sept. 25, 2023 he ordered the detention of eight current and former officials pending his investigation into the collapse of two dams earlier this month, a disaster that sent a wall of water several meters high through the center of a coastal city and left thousands of people dead. (AP Photo/Ricardo Garcia Vilanova, File)

BENGHAZI, Oct 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — Libya’s eastern authorities announced the postponement of a reconstruction conference for the flood-hit city of Derna that had been planned for Oct 10 but was met with international skepticism.

The conference was put off until Nov 1-2 to “offer time for the submission of effective studies and projects” for the reconstruction effort, the committee charged with planning the meeting said in a statement.

The divided country’s eastern administration last month invited the “international community” to attend the conference in Derna, much of which was devastated by a Sept 10 flash flood that killed thousands.

The authorities later said that the conference would draw in international corporations, and on Sunday the committee said the postponed event would be held in both Derna and Benghazi.

The North African country has been wracked by divisions since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed veteran dictator Muammar Gaddafi in 2011.

Libya is now divided between an internationally recognized Tripoli-based administration in the west, and the one in the flood-stricken east backed by military strongman Khalifa Haftar. — NNN-AGENCIES

administrator

Related Articles