Page 2 - Libya

Libya Floods — Beyond Catastrophic: Over 6,000 dead, 30,000 missing in Derna

In the midst of a climate crisis, fragile Libya faces an unprecedented disaster. Derna, a Libyan port city, mourns over 6,000 known deaths with 30,000 missing, following catastrophic floods.

Over 6,000 killed, more than 30,000 displaced after floods in Libya

According to workers, mortuaries are overflowing in hospitals that are still closed despite the pressing need to treat disaster survivors

Libya floods: 5,000 killed, over 10,000 missing; search operation underway

Authorities say that around 10,000 more are missing, potentially either swept out to sea or buried beneath rubble that's strewn throughout the city once home to over 100,000 people

2,000 bodies retrieved in eastern Libya wrecked by devastating floods

Emergency workers uncovered more than 1,500 bodies in the wreckage of Libya's eastern city of Derna on Tuesday, and it was feared the toll could spiral with 10,000 people reported still missing after floodwaters smashed through dams and washed away entire neighbourhoods of the city. The death toll in Derna alone has exceeded 5,300, the state-run news agency quoted Mohammed Abu-Lamousha, a spokesman for the east Libya interior ministry, as saying on Tuesday. Derna's ambulance authority earlier put the toll at 2,300. The startling death and devastation wreaked by Mediterranean storm Daniel pointed to the storm's intensity, but also the vulnerability of a nation torn apart by chaos for more than a decade. The country is divided by rival governments, one in the east, the other in the west, and the result has been neglect of infrastructure in many areas. Outside help was only just starting to reach Derna on Tuesday, more than 36 hours after the disaster struck. The floods damaged or ...

Libyan city buries 3,000 killed in devastating floods, 10,000 missing

Libya's eastern city of Derna has buried 700 people killed in devastating flooding and 10,000 were reported missing as rescuer teams struggled to retrieve many more bodies from the horrific deluge, officials said Tuesday. Mediterranean storm Daniel on Sunday night caused havoc and flash flooding in many towns in eastern Libya but the worst destruction was in Derna, where heavy rainfall and floods broke dams and washed away entire neighbourhoods, authorities said. The situation is catastrophic," said Othman Abduljaleel, the health minister in Libya's eastern government. The bodies are still lying on the ground in many parts (of the city). Hospitals are filled with bodies. And there are areas we have yet to reach. Authorities estimated earlier that as many as 2,000 people may have perished in Derna alone. The Ambulance and Emergency Authority, which coordinates search and rescue efforts, said about 2,300 people died in Derna but did not clarify what that figure was based on. Tamer ..

17 Indians held captive in Libya return home after six months of ordeal

The Embassy of India in Tunisia said they had successfully repatriated 17 Indians from Punjab and Haryana on August 19, who were detained in Libya since February this year.On their social media account X (formerly known as Twitter), Indian Embassy in Tunisia said, "The Embassy of India to Libya successfully repatriated 17 Indian Nationals from Punjab and Haryana (on 19 August 2023), who were detained in Libya since February 2023. The Indians safely reached India on 20 August 2023 by Gulf Air flight at 2030 hrs."AAP Rajya Sabha MP Vikramjit Singh Sahney, on Monday, who had played a role in facilitating the evacuatioon said that 17 youth mostly hailing from Punjab and Haryana were evacuated from Libya after Tripoli jail released them last month. They were in Libya for the past six months because of travel agents who duped them on the pretext of sending them to Italy.On the social media account X, Vikramjit Singh Sahney asked Punjab's Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann and Chief Minister of ...

Nine Indian merchant vessel sailors released after long captivity in Libya

Nine Indian sailors of a merchant vessel who were held captive for several months by a local militia in Libya have been released, people familiar with the development said on Saturday. After their release on Wednesday, the Indian nationals reached the Libyan capital of Tripoli where they were received by the Indian Ambassador to Tunisia. It is learnt that the group contacted the Indian embassy in Tunisia on February 15 and told it that Merchant Vessel MT Maya 1, where they were working, broke down near the coast of Libya and they have been taken into captivity by a local militia. The mission immediately took up the matter with the Libyan authorities seeking consular access and to ensure safety and repatriation of the group to India as early as possible. The Ministry of External Affairs and the Indian mission continued to follow up the matter with authorities concerned in Libya and kept the family members of the Indian nationals posted regularly about the developments in the case.

Signs of Libya's partition grow, election needed, warns UN special envoy

The U.N. special envoy for Libya warned Friday that signs of partition are already evident in the troubled North African nation and urged influential nations to pressure Libya's rival leaders to urgently finalize the constitutional basis for elections. The first anniversary of the vote's postponement is coming up later in December, said Abdoulaye Bathily, who stressed that if there is no resolution, an alternative way should be found to hold elections. Oil-rich Libya plunged into chaos after a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. In the chaos that followed, the county split into two rival administrations, each backed by different rogue militias and foreign governments. Bathily told the U.N. Security Council that the continuing disagreement between the two rivals specifically, the speaker of Libya's east-based parliament, Aguila Saleh, and Khaled al-Mashri, the president of the High Council of State based in the country's west, in the .

No military or armed solution to Libya's issues, says India at UNSC

India on Monday at the UNSC meeting on Libya said there is no military or armed solution to Libya's issues and this point needs to be emphasized by the international community

UN Secretary General proposes Senegal's Abdoulaye Bathily as envoy to Libya

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has nominated Abdoulaye Bathily to be the new UN envoy to Libya, and France's UN ambassador said he thinks the Security Council will approve the former Senegalese minister and UN diplomat, which would end a contentious nine-month search. The last UN special representative, Jan Kubis, resigned last November 23 after 10 months on the job, and a number of candidates proposed by Guterres were rejected by council members, Libya or neighboring countries. In December, Guterres appointed veteran American diplomat Stephanie Williams, a former UN deputy special representative in Libya, as his special adviser a job that did not require council approval. She left at the end of July. So, the mission has had no leader as Libyans grapple with a constitutional and political crisis. UN political chief Rosemary DiCarlo warned Tuesday that failure to resolve Libya's political crisis and hold delayed elections poses a growing threat in the country, pointing to viole

Libya capital remains tense a day after clashes kill over 30 people

Militias patrolled nearly deserted streets in Libya's capital Sunday, a day after clashes killed over 30 people and ended Tripoli's months-long stretch of relative calm. The fighting broke out early Saturday and pitted militias loyal to the Tripoli-based government against other armed groups allied with a rival administration that has for months sought to be seated in the capital. Residents fear the fighting that capped a months-long political deadlock could explode into a wider war and a return to the peaks of Libya's long-running conflict. Libya has plunged into chaos since a NATO-backed uprising toppled and killed longtime dictator Moammar Gadhafi in 2011. The oil-rich county has for years been split between rival administrations, each backed by rogue militias and foreign governments. The current stalemate grew out of the failure to hold elections in December and Prime Minister Abdul Hamid Dbeibah's refusal to step down. In response, the country's east-based parliament appoint

US calls for de-escalation in Libya, concerned over violence in Tripoli

The United States on Monday called for immediate de-escalation of violence in Libya and expressed concern over renewed threats of violent confrontation in Tripoli. The vast majority of Libyans seek to choose their leadership peacefully through elections, State Department Spokesperson Ned Price said, calling on those who risk once again being dragged into violence to put down their arms. He in particular urged Libya's leaders to recommit themselves without delay to identifying a constitutional basis for presidential and parliamentary elections. The United States is deeply concerned by renewed threats of violent confrontation in Tripoli and calls for immediate de-escalation by all sides, Price said in a statement. The ongoing instability is a reminder of the urgent need for the appointment of a new UN Special Representative of the Secretary General for Libya to resume mediation efforts, with unified support from the international community, he said. The United States will amplify ou

Oil prices fall as Libya resumes output, global demand outlook darkens

By Julia Payne

Oil prices steady after sharp decline of nearly 3% on weak US demand

Oil prices were roughly unchanged in early trading on Friday after sliding around 3% in the previous session on weakened demand in the United States and a pick-up in supply from Libya

UN Security Council extends Libya mission by 3 months after US-Russia clash

Russia's UN Ambassador Vassily Nebenzia said in the absence of a new envoy, the UN mission has been unable to provide substantial support for the political process in Libya for more than six months

Oil edges higher on concerns over Russia, Libya supply disruption

Buyers also reacted to ongoing interruptions in Libya, which is losing more than 550,000 barrels per day of oil output due to blockades at major fields and export terminals

Oil prices rise as investors focus on lower supply from Russia, Libya

Analysts said market volatility is likely to pick up again soon, with the EU still weighing a ban on Russian oil for its invasion of Ukraine

Oil steady despite Libya supply drop, Shanghai preparing to reopen

Brent crude futures rose 21 cents, or 0.2%, to $113.37 a barrel at 0020 GMT, while U.S. West Texas Intermediate (WTI) crude futures slipped 2 cents to $108.19 a barrel

Global oil prices rise as Libya outages add to Russia supply fears

Adding to supply pressures from sanctions on Russia, Libya's National Oil Corp on Monday warned 'a painful wave of closures' had begun hitting its facilities

UN Secretary-General Guterres calls for calm in Libya amid political strife

UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for calm in libya amid the political strife during a phone call with Fathi Bashagha, one of the two competing Prime Ministers in the country.