Hurricane Daniel hit Libya last week, wreaking havoc on the eastern city of Derna, breaching two neglected and aging dams upstream, releasing an estimated 30 million cubic meters (8 billion gallons) of water and destroying The city is home to an entire community of approximately 100,000 people.
But a further deadly crisis is possible, with humanitarian groups issuing dire warnings that flooding could expose unexploded landmines and other weapons left behind by the country’s war.
history of explosions
Libya is a country of seven million people that is deeply politically divided. It lacks a strong central government and has been embroiled in conflict on and off since the 2011 revolution that ousted longtime ruler Muammar Gaddafi.
After the 2011 uprising, the country’s vast arsenal was left at random, with dozens of bunkers located in residential areas and other unsafe locations completely unguarded. An anonymous source with knowledge of Libyan weapons depots told Al Jazeera that two warehouses in particular were targeted by armed groups, one known as “Storage House 3”, which houses Semtex plastic explosives, and the other known as “Storage House 5” ” to store anti-aircraft missiles.
“Suddenly, all kinds of groups[in Libya]were armed with military-grade weaponry,” he said. This posed a major challenge for the country’s National Transitional Council (NTC), which struggled to maintain order after 2011.
Things got worse when clashes broke out in 2014 between the oil-rich country, which split between two rival governments in the east and west, the U.N.-recognized government in the capital Tripoli and the now-stricken east.
In a report released by the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the number of landmine and unexploded ordnance (UXO) incidents has increased dramatically since the cessation of post-war hostilities in the second half of 2020.
The Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs added that as of 2022, an estimated 100,000 tons of ammunition lay beneath the rubble in parts of Libya, including Sirte, Tawerga, Derna and Benghazi, which have been affected by conflict over the past decade. Impact.
According to the Libyan Mine Action Center (LibMAC), between May 2020 and March 2022, 162 landmine and explosive remnants of war (ERW) incidents were reported across Libya, resulting in a total of 329 casualties, including 132 fatalities and 197 casualties. People were injured, 76% of whom were civilians.
Search for flood survivors continues in Derna, little hope for Libya
Mapping explosives in conflict zones
Typically, records holding information on the location of explosives are kept by governments and national authorities. However, as Libya remains administratively divided, the national repository does not have sufficient capacity to store this information.
Eric Tollefson, head of the weapons contamination unit at the ICRC, told Al Jazeera that the area, especially in the old town of Derna, which was worst affected by the floods, was left behind after two dams burst and flooded the area. Unexploded ordnance and ammunition depots have been relocated.
By using information collected at contaminated sites before the floods, the ICRC is building a geographic information system (GIS) model to calculate the speed, height and width of the floods in an attempt to map areas of suspected weapons contamination, information that will be passed on to authorities .
“Now, we’ve moved from a known location to a new area,” Tollefson said. “So it could have been packed into dirt, buildings, debris, and of course some was swept out to sea.”
Protests erupt in flood-hit Libyan city of Derna (Al Jazeera)
current risks
Even in conflict zones, awareness of weapons contamination is not widespread and it is widely believed that UXO is less dangerous when moved by water.
That’s not the case, Tollefson said.
He explained, “In fact, it’s the opposite. They tend to become more and more sensitive to movement, touch, and knocking. They are more likely to explode if handled afterwards.”
Some explosives may be sensitive to the slightest touch as they are moved by floodwaters, some are designed to explode on impact with a hard surface, and many will not explode even if “hit with a hammer.”
Amid the harrowing aftermath of the floods, survivors and rescuers are desperately searching for victims and pulling bodies from the rubble and sea, with rescue and human rights groups fearing more casualties are possible and that Libya is already unable to withstand another disaster. .
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How to deal with risks?
As authorities in eastern Libya struggle with the enormous challenges posed by flooding, especially against the backdrop of political unrest across the country, organizations such as the International Committee of the Red Cross are working to spread their knowledge to highlight the seriousness of unexploded weapons and provide support to those involved in rescue missions. Groups provide necessary training and assistance and raise public awareness.
Tollefson said, “As humanitarians, we have a responsibility to make them aware of this risk that we know is clear and exists. The head of our organization’s mission in Libya has always emphasized that this is a responsibility to local communities, survivors and One of the additional risks posed by rescue workers.”
The Libyan Red Crescent Society also said it has collaborated with government officials and taken responsibility for spreading knowledge online to help minimize the risk of explosions and provide people with appropriate training on what to do if an untimely explosion occurs. .
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2023-09-21 09:41:43
