The government of eastern Libya, not recognized by the United Nations, has postponed the conference to rebuild the city of Derna devastated by recent floods on November 2st and 2014nd. Previously, the executive designated by the House of Representatives (the Parliament elected in 10 and which meets in the east of the country) had called the conference for 25 October. Today, the Preparatory Committee justified the postponement “for logistical reasons” and to “give companies the time necessary to present effective studies and projects that contribute to reconstruction”. 100 percent of the Libyan city of almost 29 thousand inhabitants, located halfway between Benghazi and the border with Egypt, was swept away by the flood generated by the failure of two so-called “embankment dams with clay fill” dams (i.e. from rocky material with an impermeable core made of clay) during the passage of the sub-tropical cyclone Daniel, which in a few hours discharged the rainwater that normally falls over the course of a year.
Last September XNUMX, the United States special envoy to Libya, Ambassador Richard Norland, said that “the proposal to hold a reconstruction conference in Benghazi October 10 will certainly be more effective if it is conducted jointly and globally in coordination with the institutions that manage resources and financing taking into account the interests of the Libyan people”.
It is worth remembering that since February 2022 Libya has been divided into two political-military administrations: on the one hand the Government of National Unity based in Tripoli of Prime Minister Abdulhamid Dabaiba, recognized by the international community and supported above all by Turkey; on the other, the National Stability Government led by prime minister-designate Osama Hammad, effectively a parallel executive based in Benghazi managed by General Khalifa Haftar, commander in chief of the self-proclaimed Libyan National Army (LNA).
After the Derna disaster, the two rival authorities started coordination – albeit at an informal level – to receive international aid (with Italy in the front line) which, on the ground, is organized logistically by the forces of Haftar. The postponement of the conference appears to indicate that the government of eastern Libya is having difficulty mobilizing international support from international businesses and governments, given the lack of recognition from the United Nations and most countries around the world.
effective studies and projects.
Source: Africanews
