Libya flooding: 10,000 people thought to be missing after dams burst

Published

2 years ago

September 12, 2023

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About 10,000 people are thought to be missing after major flooding in Libya, with thousands feared dead.

A quarter of the eastern city of Derna was wiped out by floodwaters after dams burst in Storm Daniel, the local administration said, with more than 1,000 bodies recovered so far.

It is estimated as many as 2,000 people may have died in Derna alone, and the floods damaged or destroyed many access roads to city, slowing down aide.

More than 1,000 corpses have been collected – with footage showing dozens of bodies covered by blankets in the yard of one hospital.

Another image showed a mass grave piled with bodies.

At least 700 buried so far, according to the health minister for eastern Libya.

Disaster zone

Derna has been declared a disaster zone.

Tamer Ramadan, head of the International Federation of the Red Cross (IFRC) in Libya, said: “We can confirm from our independent sources of information that the number of missing people is hitting 10,000 so far.

“The death toll is huge and might reach thousands.”

He added that conditions in Libya were “as devastating as the situation in Morocco“, which has been recently hit by a powerful earthquake.

The Red Cross secretary general and chief executive, Jagan Chapagain, said on Tuesday three volunteers from its Libya chapter had died while trying to help families impacted by flooding.

Outside help was only just starting to reach Derna on Tuesday, more than 36 hours after the disaster struck.

‘Bodies lying everywhere’

Hichem Abu Chkiouat, minister of civil aviation in the eastern administration, said: “I returned from Derna. It is very disastrous.

“Bodies are lying everywhere – in the sea, in the valleys, under the buildings.”

He added: “The number of bodies recovered in Derna is more than 1,000. I am not exaggerating when I say that 25% of the city has disappeared. Many, many buildings have collapsed.”

Entire residential blocks were erased along Wadi Derna, a river that runs down from the mountains through the city centre.

Even multi-storey apartment buildings that stood well back from the river partially collapsed into the mud.

Othman Abduljaleel, eastern Libya’s health minister, said Derna was inaccessible and bodies were scattered across it, Libya’s state-run news agency reported.

“The situation was more significant and worse than we expected… An international intervention is needed,” he was quoted as saying.

Extent of disaster just beginning to dawn

Alex Rossi

International correspondent

@alexrossiSKY

It has taken time but it’s now quickly becoming clear to the outside world that Libya is facing a significant humanitarian catastrophe.

Storm Daniel has already caused chaos in southern Europe but the flooding in the east of the country may be even worse.

The disaster has been compounded by the problems Libya is already facing – years of war since Muammar Gaddafi was ousted have left the fractured nation in no place to deal with this terrible climatic event.

We don’t really know the numbers of dead – it’s definitely in the thousands but that tragic figure could rise much higher.

Aid agencies are pointing to the collapse of two dams in the coastal city of Derna as the reason for the worst of the devastation.

At least 10,000 people are missing according to the Red Crescent.

Reaching the areas worst affected is not easy – the swollen rivers and intense flash flooding have swept away roads and homes.

There are reports entire communities have been washed away into the sea.

Any relief effort will be also complicated by the political divisions that exist.

An internationally recognised government sits in the capital Tripoli but the east is administered – where Derna is located – by a different authority.

There are signs of aid moving from the capital eastwards, but for people in the flooded areas it cannot come quick enough.

It may be days before we know the true extent of this disaster and they get the help they need.

‘Never felt as frightened’

At Tripoli airport in northwest Libya, one woman broke down in tears as she found out most of her family were dead or missing.

Her brother-in-law, Walid Abdulati, said “we are not speaking about one or two people dead, but up to 10 members of each family dead”.

Karim al-Obaidi, a passenger on a plane from Tripoli to the east, said he has “never felt as frightened” and that he has lost contact with family.

People were searching for bodies and men in a rubber boat retrieved one from the sea, footage broadcast by Libyan TV station al-Masar showed.

“We have nothing to save people… no machines… we are asking for urgent help,” said Khalifah Touil, an ambulance worker.

Derna, on Libya’s eastern Mediterranean coast, is bisected by a seasonal river that flows from highlands to the south, and it is normally protected from flooding by dams.

Derna is about 560 miles east of the Libyan capital, Tripoli, and is controlled by the forces of powerful military commander Khalifa Hifter, who is allied with the east Libya government.

West Libya, including Tripoli, is controlled by armed groups connected to another administration.

World

India and Pakistan were close to miscalculation either side couldn’t afford

Published

5 hours ago

May 10, 2025

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India and Pakistan were close to miscalculation either side couldn't afford

Both India and Pakistan claimed they didn’t want all-out war, or for things to escalate.

But given that those statements came within hours of airstrikes from either side, it’s easy to understand why the world was sceptical.

Fast forward just a few hours though and a ceasefire has been agreed – with the help of the US, who brokered talks and even announced the deal.

India-Pakistan live: Latest updates as ceasefire agreed

The agreement has sparked celebrations in Pakistan, with people in many cities, including Lahore, taking to the streets. Chants of “Pakistan Zindabad” – “Long Live Pakistan” in English – are ringing out.

But the deal doesn’t undo the events of the past two weeks, which will continue to weigh heavily on the minds of many here.

The military action has been the most significant between the countries in decades and dozens have died on both sides.

Just this morning, Pakistan inflicted some serious damage to India’s military sites and New Delhi did not waste time responding with further strikes.

It was a reminder, for many, of the uncertainty of the situation between India and Pakistan.

Representatives from each country will speak again on Monday and even with the strikes halted, for now, the next 48 hours will be a very testing moment.

Both sides have often shown striking strategic restraint. And in the past fortnight, neither has launched a full-scale attack.

But their enmity has been enduring, and even with the agreement in place, it feels a bit complacent to assume India and Pakistan will just walk back from the brink.

World

Terror group supporters posted on TikTok, YouTube and Google from site targeted in Indian airstrikes

Published

8 hours ago

May 10, 2025

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Terror group supporters posted on TikTok, YouTube and Google from site targeted in Indian airstrikes

Social media accounts expressing support for a Pakistan-based terror group linked to al Qaeda appear to have posted recent videos from a Pakistan mosque targeted by Indian airstrikes.

Sky News has found videos posted on TikTok, YouTube and Google that appear to be filmed at the Markaz Taiba Mosque in Muridke. The captions and usernames contain expressions of support for the Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) and a group called ‘313’.

Sky News has found and geolocated multiple videos that appear to be filmed in the area where the captions include either or both ‘313’ and LeT.

Some of the videos show men in the streets with guns. Another post captioned a video of children doing martial arts training inside the targeted mosque, “we are little soldiers, and we fight the non-believers”.

The caption uses the hashtag #جہاد313, which translates to ‘313’ jihad.

‘313’ appears to refer to the 313 Brigade, a proscribed terror organisation in Pakistan.

In a TikTok video posted to the Google page for Markaz Taiba Mosque in Muridke, a man can be seen walking along the street with a gun.

The account that posted that video wrote in their description, “Lashkar Taiba, Mujahid Force, ‘313’ and Markaz Taiba Muridke”, self-proclaiming their support for the groups.

India’s retaliatory strikes on Pakistani-adminstered Kashmir and Pakistan on 7 May came after a deadly attack in Indian-administered Kashmir last month.

Gunmen opened fire on tourists, killing 26 people and injuring dozens in a popular holiday spot near Pahalgam, Kashmir, on 22 April.

LeT were accused by India of involvement in the Pahalgam attack through their proxy the Resistance Front, which claimed responsibility for the attack.

LeT, which is designated as a terrorist organisation by the UN Security Council and the UK, focuses on fighting Indian control in Kashmir and is based in the Punjab region of Pakistan.

Pakistan denies allegations of terror camps operating in the country. This region has been in the control of the Punjabi government since 2010. The Punjab government condemned the Indian strikes, and declared a state of emergency across Punjab.

Muskan Sangwan, senior intelligence analyst at TRAC, a terrorism research and analysis consortium, told Sky News: “Brigade 313 is al Qaeda in Pakistan. It’s an umbrella organisation for members of several groups like Taliban, Lashkar-e-Jhangvi, Haqqat ul-Jihad-al-Islami, Jaish-e Muhammad, Lashkar-e-Taiba, and Jundullah.”

Ms Sangwan explained that ‘313’ refers to the number of companions said to have fought with the Prophet Mohammed in the Battle of Badr.

TRAC have seen a recent uptick in TikTok videos and other social media posts that refer to ‘313’.

Many of the accounts are linked to each other.

Ms Sangwan said: “They [the TikTok users] mostly use ‘313’ as a hashtag… trying to push that hashtag to as many people it can reach on social media.”

Sky News sought to verify the location by comparing before and after videos from the strike location, and using the video released by the Indian army conducting the strike.

One video showing damage at the strike location was posted by a user with 313 in their TikTok username.

Below is satellite imagery that shows the destruction of the site.

In one TikTok, the video is captioned “bring your arms and ammunition and go to war”. The text on the screen of the TikTok is ‘313’ and he is carrying a gun.

The group are comfortable with having an online presence. On the Google tag for Markaz Taiba Mosque in Muridke, men pose for a group photo. Almost all the people in the photo have used ‘313’ on TikTok.

Ms Sangwan explained: “With these people from Muridke, pushing this propaganda on social media would generate a lot of significance in terms of recruitment and in terms of gaining support from local people and from other people.”

Sky News’ Asia correspondent Cordelia Lynch has reported on the ground in Muridke.

India says it struck Markaz Taiba, a site in Muridke about 15 miles (25km) from the border, which has long been claimed to be a terrorist training site associated with LeT.

MEMRI, a US-based research group that monitors terrorist threats, told Sky News: “It has been known for decades that Lashkar-e-Taiba has its headquarters in Muridke.”

Sky News contacted the Pakistan Ministry of Defence for comment. Khawaja Asif, Pakistan’s defence minister, told Sky News: “This appears to be a random video with background music added later – consistent with how TikTok trends often function. If this is to be considered credible evidence, we could produce millions of similar clips ourselves.”

Mr Asif also said that any suggestion that the mosque was used as a base by terrorists was a “completely false, social media made up hoax”.

On 7 May, after the strikes in Pakistan, the Indian subcontinent branch of al Qaeda issued a statement condemning India’s actions and encouraging its supporters to wage jihad against India.

The Data and Forensics team is a multi-skilled unit dedicated to providing transparent journalism from Sky News. We gather, analyse and visualise data to tell data-driven stories. We combine traditional reporting skills with advanced analysis of satellite images, social media and other open source information. Through multimedia storytelling we aim to better explain the world while also showing how our journalism is done.

World

Ukraine and ‘coalition of the willing’ press Russia for 30-day ceasefire from Monday

Published

8 hours ago

May 10, 2025

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Ukraine and 'coalition of the willing' press Russia for 30-day ceasefire from Monday

European leaders including Sir Keir Starmer have threatened Vladimir Putin with fresh sanctions if Russia fails to comply with an unconditional 30-day ceasefire.

The prime minister met Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy alongside French President Emmanuel Macron, recently-elected German Chancellor Friedrich Merz and Polish Prime Minister Donald Tusk in Kyiv on Saturday.

It is the first time the leaders of the four countries have travelled to Ukraine – arriving by train – at the same time.

They updated Donald Trump on the progress made on the so-called “coalition of the willing” plans in a 20-minute phone call.

Following the summit, the leaders announced an agreement that there should be an unconditional 30-day ceasefire starting on Monday, with the backing of the US president.

“All of us here, together with US, are calling Putin out,” said Sir Keir.

“So we are clear, all five leaders here – all the leaders of the meeting we just had with the coalition of the willing – an unconditional ceasefire, rejecting Putin’s conditions, and clear that if he turns his back on peace, we will respond.

“Working with President Trump, with all our partners, we will ramp up sanctions and increase our military aid for Ukraine’s defence to pressure Russia back to the table.”

It comes after Donald Trump called for “ideally” a 30-day ceasefire between Kyiv and Moscow, and warned that if any pause in the fighting is not respected “the US and its partners will impose further sanctions”.

Security and defence analyst Michael Clarke told Sky News presenter Samantha Washington the European leaders are “rowing in behind” the US president, who referred to his “European allies” for the first time in this context in a post on his Truth Social platform.

“So this meeting is all about heaping pressure on the Russians to go along with the American proposal,” he said.

“It’s the closest the Europeans and the US have been for about three months on this issue.”

Mr Zelenskyy told reporters the agreed ceasefire should cover air, sea and land, and said that if Moscow refused, Russia would face new sanctions, including the strengthening of punitive measures targeting its energy and banking sectors.

The European leaders said the terms of a peace deal would be negotiated during the 30-day pause in fighting.

But the Ukrainian president said: “We have no illusions that the ceasefire will be breached.”

Mr Macron said the proposed ceasefire would be monitored mainly by the US and European countries and there would be “massive” sanctions if Russia did not agree.

Military officers from around 30 countries have been involved in drawing up plans for a coalition, which would provide a peacekeeping force in the event of a ceasefire being agreed between Russia and Ukraine.

This force “would help regenerate Ukraine’s armed forces after any peace deal and strengthen confidence in any future peace”, according to Number 10.

Kremlin spokesman Dmitry Peskov was quoted as saying on Friday that Russia supported the implementation of a 30-day ceasefire, but only with due consideration of “nuances”.

European leaders show solidarity – but await Trump’s backing

Dominic Waghorn

International affairs editor

@DominicWaghorn

The hope is Russia’s unilateral ceasefire, such as it’s worth, can be extended for a month to give peace a chance.

But ahead of the meeting, Ukrainian sources told Sky News they are still waiting for President Donald Trump to put his full weight behind the idea.

The US leader has said a 30-day ceasefire would be ideal, but has shown no willingness yet for putting pressure on Russian president Vladimir Putin to agree.

The Russians say a ceasefire can only come after a peace deal can be reached.

European allies are still putting their hopes in a negotiated end to the war despite Moscow’s intransigence and President Trump’s apparent one-sided approach favouring Russia.

Ukrainians would prefer to be given enough economic and military support to secure victory.

But in over three years, despite its massive economic superiority to Russia and its access to more advanced military technology, Europe has not found the political will to give Kyiv the means to win.

Until they do, Vladimir Putin may decide it is still worth pursuing this war despite its massive cost in men and materiel on both sides.

As the European leaders pulled into Kyiv by train on Saturday, the screen on the platform announced the arrival of the “Bravery Express”.

Mr Zelenskyy accompanied them as they paid their respects at a memorial in central Kyiv to honour Ukrainian soldiers killed in the current war.