Libya dam burst: Torrent of frustration unleashed in Derna as flood-hit protesters call for leadership change
The anger in Derna has been brewing for days now. It’s been building ever since the floodwaters dropped.
Even amid the overwhelming grief with a quarter of the city’s population wiped out, the survivors and bereaved families unleashed a torrent of frustration and fury of equal ferocity to the water which punched through Derna.
That fury erupted into loud and angry street protests a week after the devastating flooding – with demonstrators crowding around the city’s Al Sahaba Mosque on Monday night demanding an immediate change in leadership.
A popular political activist led the chants from the foot of the mosque which was itself damaged in the tsunami of water which ripped through the city.
“We want the entire parliament to resign and fresh leaders to take over,” Taha Bobeda told us from the roof of the mosque.
“We want the international community to take a strong stand, and conduct an independent inquiry and ensure the aid to rebuild Derna is distributed honestly.”
His anger was very much mirrored by the crowd of furious residents. They blame negligent and corrupt leaders for failing to invest in maintaining the city’s two dams over four decades.
Men waved Libyan flags and crowded around the mosque roofs shouting for a change of direction for the country.
“We want Libya to be united again,” one said. “We want an end to corruption and our politicians just doing everything for themselves.”
A spontaneous protest formed in Derna as anger turns on local leaders
Protests at the Al Sahaba mosque
Flood destruction by the mosque
The city’s dams burst under the weight of water accumulated from Storm Daniel and cascaded like a giant wrecking ball on the homes, apartments, shopping malls, schools and businesses below.
The water cut such a swathe through the city that most of the centre was washed away with entire nine-storey apartment blocks lifted off their foundations by its force and at least three bridges weighing hundreds of tonnes were smashed entirely.
An estimated 11,000 are thought to have drowned in the torrent or died after being buried in the sludge and mud which was forced down the valley. A further ten thousand are unaccounted for. The water was so powerful it reached fifteen to twenty metres high in places and carried away vehicles and whole buildings in its path.
Abdul Gabriel lost multiple relatives in the flooding and like so many he wants a complete change of authority.
Abdul Gabriel has lost multiple family members in the fllooding
“Everything is wrong about Libya,” he said.
“The education, health system, military… everything is wrong. No one is listening to the people. We see politicians visiting Paris, Rome, other European cities, spending our money and when we told them about the dam, they told us to stay at home. They told us to stay at home.”
Protesters hold a sign written in English and Arabic
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Virtually every resident here has suffered loss of family in the catastrophic flooding, so tempers and emotions are incredibly strong especially as most if not all, believe the tragedy could have been avoided.
This is a city with a history of toppling leaders. It was among the first to demand an end to Colonel Gaddafi’s dictatorship as part of the wave of protests across the Middle East and North Africa known as the Arab Spring in 2011.
Now a renegade Gaddafi general called Khalifa Haftar and his troops are in control of East Libya – while a rival government recognised by the United Nations runs the west of the country.
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Boy swept out to sea survives
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About 10,000 people are still unaccounted for.
More than a decade after the NATO military campaign to end Gaddafi’s reign, the country is riddled with corruption and profiteering with many convinced the lack of investment in the dams is because public funds had been misused.
This protest erupted spontaneously, but will it morph into a more coordinated demand for change in Libya?
A protester waves the Libyan flag
Hours after it began, the protesters set off to march to the mayor’s house to wreak their own revenge. First they lobbed stones at his empty family home – which is in an area of Derna unaffected by the floods. Then they set off fires inside and chucked out a range of his family’s personal belongings ranging from mattresses to seats and clothing.
Derna residents are already working through the night to rebuild their collapsed roads. Reconstructing the city will cost billions – and what happens to any aid will be key, with Derna residents once again at the forefront of demands for leadership change
World
South Korean authorities attempt to arrest President Yoon for second time – standoff with security service under way
A new attempt to arrest South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol is under way, six weeks after his short-lived attempt to impose martial law.
A standoff is in place outside Mr Yoon’s official residence between authorities and the president’s security service.
A previous attempt by law enforcement to arrest the impeached president failed earlier this month.
Mr Yoon’s presidential security service prevented dozens of investigators from arresting him after a standoff which lasted nearly six hours on 3 January.
The Corruption Investigation Office for High-Ranking Officials and police responded by pledging more forceful measures to detain Mr Yoon while they jointly investigate whether his martial law declaration on 3 December amounted to an attempted rebellion.
The National Police Agency convened multiple meetings of field commanders in Seoul and nearby Gyeonggi province in recent days to plan their detainment efforts, and the size of those forces fuelled speculation that more than 1,000 officers could be deployed in a possible multi-day operation.
Police officers stand in front of the gate of the presidential residence in the early hours of Wednesday 15 January local time. Pic: AP
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From 3 January: South Korea protesters clash with police
Anti-corruption agency and police officials met representatives of the presidential security service on Tuesday morning for unspecified discussions regarding efforts to execute the detention warrant for Mr Yoon.
It was not immediately clear at the time if any kind of compromise was reached.
What happened on 3 December?
Mr Yoon declared martial law and deployed troops around the National Assembly at the beginning of last month.
It lasted only hours before politicians managed to get through the blockade and voted to lift the measure.
His presidential powers were suspended when the opposition-dominated assembly voted to impeach him on 14 December, accusing him of rebellion.
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How six hours of martial law unfolded in South Korea
Yoon Suk Yeol speaks at the presidential residence in Seoul on the day he was impeached. Pic: AP
Mr Yoon has argued his declaration of martial law was a legitimate act of governance, calling it a warning to the main liberal opposition Democratic Party which he has described as “despicable pro-North Korean anti-state forces”.
He claimed the party used its legislative majority to impeach top officials and undermine the government’s budget.
Over the past two weeks, thousands of anti-Yoon and pro-Yoon protesters have gathered daily in competing rallies near his office in Seoul, in anticipation of the second detention attempt.
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A Gaza deal is “on the brink”, President Joe Biden has said in his final foreign policy address.
The outgoing US leader said it would include a hostage release deal and a “surge” of aid to Palestinians.
“So many innocent people have been killed, so many communities have been destroyed. Palestinian people deserve
peace,” he said.
“The deal would free the hostages, halt the fighting, provide security to Israel, and allow us to significantly surge humanitarian assistance to the Palestinians who suffered terribly in this war that Hamas started.”
Pic: Reuters
The US president also hailed Washington’s support for Israel during two Iranian attacks in 2024.
“All told, Iran is weaker than it’s been in decades,” he said.
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Mr Biden was delivering his final foreign policy address before he leaves office next week.
Monday’s address will be the penultimate time he speaks to the country before the end of his presidency. He is due to give a farewell address on Wednesday.
US and Arab mediators made significant progress overnight toward brokering a ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and the release of scores of hostages held in the Gaza Strip – but a deal has not been reached yet, officials said.
A round of ceasefire talks will be held in Doha on Tuesday to finalise remaining details related to a ceasefire deal in Gaza – including over the release of up to 33 hostages – officials added.
Mr Biden went on to claim America’s adversaries were weaker than when he took office four years ago and that the US was “winning the worldwide competition”.
“Compared to four years ago, America is stronger, our alliances are stronger, our adversaries and competitors are
weaker,” he said.
“We have not gone to war to make these things happen.”
World
IDF admits ‘serious offence’ after using vehicle marked ambulance in raid in which a grandmother was killed
The Israel Defence Forces (IDF) has admitted to a “serious offence” after a Sky News investigation analysed CCTV footage showing the moment an 80-year-old Palestinian grandmother was shot in the West Bank.
Halima Abu Leil was shot during a raid in Nablus. The grandmother died soon after.
During the course of the investigation, we noted that a blue vehicle marked as an ambulance and with a red light on its roof was used by IDF troops to enter the West Bank.
Our investigation stated: “Figures who appear to be Israeli military forces exit the ambulance in the foreground. They are equipped with helmets, backpacks, rifles, and other gear.”
The use of a marked medical vehicle for a security operation could be a contravention of the Geneva Convention and a war crime – as well as Halima’s killing.
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CCTV shows Palestinian grandmother shot in IDF raid
The IDF has subsequently told Sky News: “On December 19, 2024, soldiers from the ‘Duvdevan’ unit took part in an operational mission to detain terrorists in Nablus.
“During the operation, an ambulance-like vehicle was used for operational purposes, without authorisation and without the relevant commanders’ approval.”
It added: “The use of the ambulance-like vehicle during the operation was a serious offence, exceeding authority, and a violation of existing orders and procedures.”
It also said the commander of the ‘Duvdevan’ unit was “reprimanded”.
However, it gave no update into the death of Halima, saying “the circumstances of the incident are being examined”.
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The United Nations Special Rapporteur on occupied Palestinian territory Francesca Albanese watched the CCTV video and told Sky News her death could be a “war crime”.
She said: “When I look at the footage, what emerges prima facie is that there were no precautions taken – within these operations whose legality is debatable – to avoid or spare civilian life.
“No principle of proportionality because there was wildfire directed at the identified target and ultimately no respect for the principle of distinction.
“So this was a murder in cold blood and could be a war crime as an extrajudicial killing.”
According to the United Nations Office Of Human Rights in occupied Palestinian territory, Israeli security forces and settlers have killed at least 813 mostly unarmed Palestinians, including 15 women and 177 children, since 7 October 2023.
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